September 20, 2019，Global Zhongjun Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. won a bid of 365.27 acres of land。If nothing else happens，This land located in Qingshui Town, Renshou County, Sichuan will be used for the construction of 188bet Live Casino in Tianfu New District。

As early as February last year，中军天信、Chengdu Global Century Exhibition and Tourism Group signed an investment framework agreement for the 188bet Live Casino project with Merlin Entertainment Group。

Merlin Entertainments is the operator of the 188bet Live Casino project，They bought the 188bet Live Casino business from Lego parent company Kirkbi Group in 2005。However，In June this year, the parent company of Lego made an acquisition offer to Merlin Entertainments，This also means that Lego will take back the operating rights of 188bet Live Casino。

It is reported，The Sichuan Tianfu New District 188bet Live Casino project is jointly invested by Zhongjun Tianxin (Beijing) Culture Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Global Century Exhibition and Tourism Group Co., Ltd.，Merlin Entertainments is responsible for the entire process from early planning and design to later operation and management。

188bet Live Casino in Tianfu New District is expected to open in 2020，It may become the first 188bet Live Casino officially opened in China。

Although 188bet Live Casino is not as famous as Disney，But in recent years, 188bet Live Casino has paid more and more attention to the Chinese market，188bet Live Casino has also cultivated a considerable number of fans in China。

In the semi-annual report released not long ago，188bet Live Casino’s revenue in the first half of 2019 155.200 million yuan，4% year-on-year growth。Because Toys R Us closed down，European and American markets fluctuated，188bet Live Casino’s revenue drivers mainly come from emerging markets such as China，The sales growth in the Chinese market is strong，Reached double digits。

Facing the amazing potential of the Chinese market，The 188bet Live Casino Group said it will open 80 new stores in China this year - accounting for half of the number of new stores opened this year，The total number of stores in China is expected to reach more than 140 by the end of this year，Covering 35 major cities。

After the main toy business，Theme parks extended by IP will of course follow suit immediately。Except for the Tianfu New District Paradise mentioned at the beginning，188bet Live Casino parks in Shanghai and Beijing are also under preparation，It is expected to open in succession in the next few years。

However，Even with the strong support of the Chinese market，188bet Live Casino’s net profit still fell to 2.8 billion yuan in the first half of this year，12% decrease。

This is not a 188bet Live Casino problem，Because the toy industry has reached an inflection point of transformation。188bet Live Casino, which is in a period of transformation, has also tried IP derivatives such as film and television content and games，But with little effect。(For details, see: 188bet Live Casino’s net profit of 15.47 million yuan a day，Where are the hidden dangers？）

Now，They set their sights on paradise again，Want to take back this divested business。

Merlin Entertainments behind 188bet Live Casino，It is the theme park giant second only to Disney

According to the "2018 Global Theme Attractions Visitor Report" released by TEA this year。Among the top 20 tourist attractions in Europe，Three 188bet Live Casino parks are on the list，Lego Windsor in the UK ranks ninth in the world，Annual passenger flow exceeds 2.3 million people，The passenger flow of the remaining two buildings is also more than 2.2 million。

Including the three 188bet Live Casino parks shown above，There are currently 9 188bet Live Casino theme parks and 22 indoor 188bet Live Casino Discovery Centers around the world。

The company that operates these parks is not LEGO itself，is the 188bet Live Casino we mentioned before。

According to the "2018 Global Theme Attractions Visitor Report"，The combined number of visitors to all 188bet Live Casino's parks last year was 67 million，It is the second largest theme park group in the world，Second only to Disney。

1968，The world’s first 188bet Live Casino opens in Billund, Denmark。More than thirty years later，Lego is in Germany again、UK、Five 188bet Live Casino parks have opened in the United States。

Initially these parks were operated by the 188bet Live Casino Group itself，But around 2002，The 188bet Live Casino Group has blindly expanded its business，In business difficulties，Had to sell some assets。

2005，Merlin Entertainments with support from Blackstone Group 2.Buy 188bet Live Casino for £500 million，Opened the road to becoming a global amusement park giant。

However，Lego did not hand over such a huge piece of cake to others。Lego parent company Kirkbi Group，Obtained 25% of 188bet Live Casino Group’s shares through this transaction。

After a series of equity operations，After 188bet Live Casino went public in 2013，Kirkbi Group’s shares increased to 29.6%，Became the largest single shareholder of 188bet Live Casino。This also paved the way for Lego to acquire Merlin Entertainment。

The Kristiansen family except 188bet Live Casino，Also invests in banking and real estate

It is worth mentioning，Kirkbi Group is owned by the Kristiansen family, the founding family of 188bet Live Casino。Kirkbi Group has always held 75% of the shares of the 188bet Live Casino Group。

Imitate Disney, 188bet Live Casino upgrades the resort

Before acquiring LEGO’s park business，Merlin Entertainments is a company that operates indoor theme parks，Owned by Sea Life、the Dungeons and other indoor theme park brands，No experience in operating large-scale amusement parks，This also worries the original 188bet Live Casino employees。

However, 188bet Live Casino Entertainment has dispelled external concerns with its real business capabilities and industry vision。

The first 188bet Live Casino opened after Merlin Entertainments took over was 188bet Live Casino Florida，Opened at the end of 2011。The biggest difference between this new paradise and the past is that it has more supporting hotels。

From that time，All 188bet Live Casino，New or old，There will be corresponding hotels。For tourists，This means 188bet Live Casino is no longer a stand-alone theme park，But a tourist resort。

This approach of 188bet Live Casino Entertainment is undoubtedly following Disney’s idea of ​​building a resort with a park as the core in the last century。

Building hotels and other supporting facilities near the park can change tourists’ itinerary from “one day of shopping” to “two days of fun”，Not only can tourists stay longer and increase consumption in the park，You can also earn money for hotel and catering。

There is a Toy Story themed hotel in the Disney Resort、Star Wars themed hotels and other hotels that integrate IP features。

The same goes for the 188bet Live Casino Resort hotels。188bet Live Casino Resort in Billund，Visitors can see a castle that seems to be built with Lego bricks。In the room，Visitors can also see LEGO’s own “adventures”、"Kingdom"、Decoration inspired by toy series such as “LEGO Friends”。

In next spring，188bet Live Casino Florida will also build a "Pirate Island" themed hotel。

The benefits brought by the continuous opening of new hotels to 188bet Live Casino are obvious。

188bet Live Casino divides its revenue into three major parts: tourist revenue、Accommodation and other income。Tourist income is mainly the income from tickets and tourists’ consumption in the park。Accommodation revenue is hotel revenue。

2013，When Lego Hotel first started, accommodation revenue accounted for only 13% of 188bet Live Casino’s revenue。It’s 2018，This number increased to 21%。

And judging from the financial reports of the past two years，The growth of hotel business has become the main driving force for the business growth of 188bet Live Casino Resort。

188bet Live Casino Resort revenue in 2018 was 6.£3.7 billion，Increased by 4 compared with 2017.6%。But actually，188bet Live Casino Resort’s visitor revenue in 2018 fell by nearly 2% compared with 2017.5%，The total revenue was increased by the nearly 40% growth in hotel revenue。

Another major feature of Disney Resort is the continuous expansion of new theme parks within the park，This aspect allows tourists to stay in the park for a few more days，On the other hand, it can also give tourists a reason to come again。

This year，"Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" theme park officially opened at two Disney resorts in California and Orlando，This is also Disney’s largest expansion plan in recent years，Cost billion，14 acres。

188bet Live Casino Resort has also been expanding in recent years。2010，The first 188bet Live Casino water park opens at 188bet Live Casino Resort California，Later copied to Florida、188bet Live Casino Resorts in Malaysia and Dubai。

The original 188bet Live Casino in Billund, Denmark cannot build a water park due to climate reasons，However, Merlin Entertainment built a large indoor park here - Lego House。In this museum-like paradise，Not only are there many large LEGO “sculptures” on display，It also uses various cutting-edge technologies to provide tourists with more interactive experiences。

LEGO House is not the first LEGO indoor theme park，In 2007，Merlin Entertainment opened the first 188bet Live Casino Discovery Center in Berlin。

Because the indoor theme park occupies a small area，Operation costs are also relatively low，So the LEGO Discovery Center is opening new stores very quickly，Until now，188bet Live Casino Discovery Centers on 4 continents，23 stores worldwide。There are 3 companies in China，Respectively located in Beijing、Shanghai、Shenyang。

The entertainment facilities inside the 188bet Live Casino Discovery Center mainly include 4D cinema、Castle Adventure and Magic Wheel。There is also a restaurant and gift shop inside。

If 188bet Live Casino Resort caters to the needs of both children and adult LEGO fans，Then the LEGO Discovery Center is for children，The internal amusement projects and activities are obviously parent-child oriented。

For 188bet Live Casino，The LEGO Discovery Center is also a “pathfinder” into new markets。

"Before the construction of 188bet Live Casino Nagoya，We have accumulated a lot of experience about the Japanese market from the LEGO Discovery Center in Tokyo。” said John Jakobsen, Store Opening Officer of Merlin Entertainments，“But this does not determine whether we should open 188bet Live Casino in Japan。Before the opening of 188bet Live Casino Discovery Center Tokyo，We are already discussing 188bet Live Casino in Japan。”

Obtain Peppa Pig IP authorization，Acquisition of Madame Tussauds，188bet Live Casino becomes the world’s second largest amusement park group

188bet Live Casino Entertainment was originally a company operating indoor theme parks in the UK，So building the LEGO Discovery Center is back to their roots。

188bet Live Casino is accustomed to calling small tourism projects such as indoor theme parks "midway attractions"，Means "a place where tourists can spend an hour or two playing and sightseeing during their trip"。

Outside 188bet Live Casino Discovery Center，Merlin Entertainments also operates 15 "midway attraction" brands，This contains Sea Life and The Dungeons that they had when they were founded，There are also Madame Tussauds and London Eye that were later acquired。

2017，188bet Live Casino and eOne have reached a global (excluding the UK) multi-field cooperation agreement。After obtaining authorization，In October 2018，Merlin Entertainment’s first “Peppa Pig’s Fun World” opened in Shanghai LCM Xuhui Plaza。

The current business scope of 188bet Live Casino Entertainment

In the past ten years，Relying on the support of shareholder Blackstone，188bet Live Casino has purchased several historic theme parks in Europe，And launched global expansion，Promote its park brands to the world。Merlin Entertainment currently operates 130 tourism projects in 25 major countries and regions around the world，Includes theme parks and “midway attractions” mentioned above。

With these wide distribution，A large number of attractions，188bet Live Casino Entertainment finally became the second in the world in terms of passenger traffic，The park giant second only to Disney。

Lego acquires Merlin Entertainments，Not just to take back 188bet Live Casino

But judging from the distribution of these attractions，Merlin Entertainment’s focus remains on the UK and continental Europe。The dependence on Europe caused 188bet Live Casino’ subsequent growth to stagnate。

2018，188bet Live Casino’ visitor growth rate is only 1.4%，The revenue growth rate also increased from 11% in 2017.6%，Reduced to 5 in 2018.8%。

Because of the signs of recession in the European economy and the unresolved issue of Brexit，188bet Live Casino Entertainment’s share price hits rock bottom。

Until June，Lego parent company Kirkbi joins forces with Blackstone Group and Canadian Pension Fund Investment Corporation (CPPIB)，Initiates acquisition for £4.8 billion，The share price of 188bet Live Casino has risen sharply。Currently，188bet Live Casino has accepted the acquisition offer，But the acquisition has not yet been completed。

After the transaction is completed，Lego founding family will hold 50% of 188bet Live Casino，Blackstone and CPPIB will hold the other 50%。

This deal is great for the LEGO Group，It’s not just as simple as taking back the operating rights of 188bet Live Casino。

188bet Live Casino now only accounts for 38% of Merlin Entertainments revenue，The remaining half comes from other assets of Merlin Entertainments，For example, Madame Tussauds and Sea Life aquariums around the world。

In the previous semi-annual report of 188bet Live Casino, we can also find that 188bet Live Casino’s revenue structure is very single，Toy sales accounted for 98.6%。After the success of this acquisition，means 188bet Live Casino has another source of income，This also helps 188bet Live Casino resist the risks brought about by changes in the toy market。

Also，This acquisition also means that the main business of the top five theme park companies in the world is not theme parks。Disney’s current main business is film and television content；Universal’s main business is making movies；OCT’s main business is real estate；Huaqiang Fantawild, like Disney, relies on content to make money。

*This article comesSource：WeChat public account "三文娱乐”, (ID: hi3wyu), byAuthor: Dkphhh, original title: "188bet Live Casino settles in Sichuan，The Merlin Entertainments behind it is the largest park giant after Disney》.