Istanbul/Turkey: Turkuazoo Aquarium Acquired by Merlin

At the beginning of this week, Merlin Entertainments announced that it has acquired Istanbul’s Turkuazoo attraction, an aquarium opened in 2009, from Dutch based Global Aquariums BV for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition marks Merlin’s first venture into Istanbul. The global attractions operator sees the acquisition of the centrally located attraction in the Istanbul Forum Mall in Bayrampassa as the catalyst to the potential development of a ‘cluster’ of their global midway brands in the city. Merlin plans to invest in upgrading and expanding the business and to develop both displays and the infrastructure of Turkuazoo to improve the visitor experience for guests of all ages and to underline the attraction’s position as a world class aquarium. Greater emphasis is to be put on the information and ‘fun learning’ offer. The aquarium will become part of Merlin’s European Midway Operating Group which is made up of global brands like SEA Life, Madame Tussauds, Legoland Discovery Centres and Dungeons. (eap)