SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd has nearly doubled its stake in Britain's Merlin Entertainments, the operator of Madame Tussauds waxworks and Legoland, to about 5.2 per cent.

Merlin said on Thursday that GIC raised its holding to about 52.6 million shares from about 27.6 million.

Private equity firms CVC and Blackstone launched a sale of about 156.5 million shares earlier this week.

Shares of Merlin, the world's second largest operator of visitor attractions behind Walt Disney, closed up 2.8 per cent at 426.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange.