Thomas Kirk Kristiansen is chairman of the board of the Lego Foundation, the fourth generation owner of the Lego Group, and deputy chairman of the Lego Brand Group. He is also a member of the board of Kirkbi, the Kirk Kristiansen family’s private holding and investment company.
Back in 2019, Merlin Entertainments agreed to be acquired for £6 billion by Berkeley Bidco Limited, a company jointly owned by Kirkbi and Blackstone Core Equity Partners. Kirkbi, which owns 50 percent of Merlin, already owned 29.7 percent of the attraction operator as part of its deal in 2005 to sell the Legoland parks business to Merlin.
In 2021, Merlin started construction of the world’s largest Legoland Resort, a $1 billion Lego-themed attraction in Shenzhen, China. Legoland Shanghai Resort and Legoland Sichuan Resort are also being developed in China, as is the world’s first standalone Peppa Pig Resort, opening in 2024.
Legoland parks are spread across the globe, with offerings in Denmark, Dubai, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, New York, California, Florida and the UK. There are also Legoland Discovery Centres in every corner of the world, from Canada to Australia.