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ABC Aquires La Petite
December 15, 2006
Angry people want you to see how powerful they are. Loving people want you to see how powerful YOU are.
-Chief Red Eagle
-Chief Red Eagle
ABC Learning Centres Limited from Australia announced yesterday its acquisition of Chicago-based La Petite Academy for approximately $US 330 million. La Petite is the second largest for profit provider in the United States operating 650 centers in 36 states.
With this purchase ABC firmly establishes itself as a major player in the US market. ABC entered this market previously by acquiring the Learning Care Group in January 2006 and Children's Courtyard in August 2006. With this latest acquisition, ABC now operates over 1,100 centers in the US. Bill Davis, CEO of Learning Care Group, will oversee US operations for ABC. All acquired centers will continue to operate under their existing brand names.
In addition, ABC also announced the acquisition of the Busy Bees Group, operator of 47 child care centers in the United Kingdom, as well as the aquisition of MacQuarie Leisure Services, operators of 49 centers in New Zealand and 6 in Australia. These acquisitions introduce ABC into the UK market and solidify its position in Australia and New Zealand. ABC now operates 77 centers in New Zealand and 1,158 in Australia.
To learn more about ABC Learning Centres, you can go to their web site, www.childcare.com.au. For information about the Learning Care Group, go to www.learningcaregroup.com.
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Comments (8)
Displaying 5 of 8 Comments [ View all ]ABC Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay, ACT, Australia
Hey everyone...just want to say that ABC is just aonther childcare centre in Australia that is providing top quality care for young children. I work for ABC and yeah ABC may have their up's and down's but really everyone must stop and think that is it all being done for the children!!!!!!! ABC is a great company to work for..there may be a heap of paper work but really who can complain about the best job in the world!!!!!!!!!!
toowoomba, q;d, Australia
oh my goodness... listinging to you all bagg out ABC, how sad! i work at an ABC center and i totaly disagree with most of these comments!
we have not been ABC for all that long but there has only been a couple of thing that changed since they have taken over! and that is the support, quality of equipment and carring nutring new staff that have joined our team; its not the NAME of a center that makes it a fantastic center it is a AWESOME and caring staff that they have working for them, all that ABC does is pay our wages and buy stuff for the center ather then that we realy see them...incase we request somthing or our weekly cheak ups! they are great to work for and EVERY one needs to get over this whole ABC war! were suposet to teach the children about acceptance and loyalty, in these comments i can not see much of that at all!!!!
ABC Learning Centres
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
As a staff member at an ABC centre, I feel I must stand up against the backlash. While I don't necessarily like how quickly Eddy Groves is taking over the child care industry, he DOES look after the staff in Australia.
Earlier this year an MBA (multiple business agreement) was finalised in conjunction with our union, entitling ABC centre staff to free uniforms, free training in both child care and first aid (a requirement for child care staff), and other benefits.
Centre staff are REQUIRED BY LAW to hold or work towards a qualification in the industry, and many staff have been working in the industry for several years, myself included. While some staff are young, most are experienced, and all work extremely hard at a job that is poorly paid for the amount of work we do.
I know from personal experience that child care staff are looked down upon by many members of society as simple baby-sitters, without knowledge, experience or caring. This is far from the truth. We LOVE working with children, we strive for excellence in our field, and we CARE a great deal.
Eddy Groves is clearly a very talented and ambitious business man, and while HE may only care about profit, and the expansion of his global child care empire, the STAFF in his centres care a great deal about the children and their families. Please do not judge US by the fact that we work in a centre owned/operated by Eddy Groves, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a centre that ISN'T - and that's not entirely a bad thing!!
Sydney, NSW, United States
Hi, I agree it is absolutely devastating that one company is allowed to control such a significant portion of the market.
Not only are ABC centre's poorly run and staffed they are also using curriculums and teaching methods that should have gone ou the door years ago. I had the unfortunate incidence of working in an ABC centre, of which i only lasted a few weeks. They do not look after staff, do not look after the families and children they are supposed to be providing the service for. It is completely driven by money!!! I implore all families to stay away from ABC as the care and education of your children is at stake, and surely you would want the best for them.
United States
Sad news that ABC have taken over so many centres in the States.
We in Australia are suffereing badly from this take over of corporate child care.
Other countries learn from our lesson and do not go there.
These centres are poorly staffed by young people with little experience in child care. Staff are sworn to secrecy so little information gets out. Profits are pulled out for shareholders benefits and this can only affect quality. They are very clever at marketing their concept and meeting minimum requirements. Please be ware
The care of our children is the responsibility of the whole community not a commodity to be bought and sold on the stock martket!!
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