Merlin Entertainments Group is in talks with potential investors for its plan to sell shares by going public in either London or New York, the company's chief executive Nick Varney disclosed to Reuters.

Merlin, which is a private equity-backed company that owns Legoland and Madame Tussauds, said it may bring its leverage level down below three times earnings before ITDA (interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) from a multiple of 3.6 times as part of any IPO.

The private equity firm is owned by Denmark's Kirkbi A/S which manages private equity companies CVC Capital and Blackstone Group.

Initial public offering in Europe have been showing signs of improvement as investor confidence gets boost from improving stock markets.