On June 28, 2019, theme park operator Merlin Entertainments announced its agreement to be acquired by an investor consortium comprising Blackstone, KIRKBI (Merlin's largest shareholder), and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), in a deal valuing the company at around 12.0x EBITDA. Although the new owners' financial policy intentions and the contemplated funding mix for the transaction is yet to be finalized, we understand that under the new ownership the company will implement a more aggressive financial policy, which could cap our financial risk assessment. We are therefore placing our 'BB' issuer credit rating on Merlin Entertainment and 'BB' issue rating on the senior unsecured debt ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. We expect to resolve the CreditWatch placement in
