U.S. group buys four Lego-themed parks

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 13 (UPI) -- U.S. merchant banker Blackstone Group will pay $456 million to Denmark's troubled Lego Co. for four theme parks.

Blackstone's Merlin Entertainments Group will run the Lego-themed parks, as it already does other parks, like Sea Life, Earth Explorer and Dungeon, which it bought in May, the BBC reported Wednesday.

Blackstone will hold a 70-percent interest in the four parks; Lego and its owners will hold a 30-percent stake. The deal is subject to European Commission regulatory approval.

The four parks are in the United States, Britain, Denmark and Germany.

Lego's net losses last year more than doubled to $328 million.