Merlin Entertainments, the UK attractions giant, has acquired the Underwater Adventures Aquarium in Minnesota, US from The Minnesota Aquarium LLC for an undisclosed sum.

The aquarium, which will be Merlin’s sixth US attraction, welcomes 600,000 visitors each year.

Merlin plans to invest US$5m (£3.24m) to improve the product offering, dwell time and overall enjoyment of the aquarium.

Glenn Earlam, managing director of Merlin’s Midway operating group, said: “Underwater Adventures and Sea Life have very complementary market positions, each taking an ethical approach to marine conservation with a strong emphasis on education and fun learning – a core them for Merlin.

“Underwater Adventures is an excellent regional attraction, in a market that is very important to our future growth strategy. It has huge potential for further development, and will also offer an excellent base on which to develop other attractions in the future.”