Lego to buy entertainment centres from Merlin for $270 million

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danish toymaker Lego said on Wednesday it will buy 29 discovery centres from theme park operator Merlin Entertainments in a 200 million pounds ($269.5 million) deal, in line with a strategy to strengthen control over consumer interactions with its brand.

Unlike theme parks, the discovery centres are entertainment venues offering activities such as Lego building zones and creative workshops.

Merlin will continue to operate 11 Legoland theme parks globally under licence from Lego, the companies said in a joint statement.

($1 = 0.7422 pounds)

(Reporting by Soren Jeppesen and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)