Bain sells Australia childcare business for $320m

The private equity firm bought OAC in 2016 in a deal reportedly worth AUD 400m. Several bolt-on acquisitions followed, including childcare services provider Little Learning School in 2018. That transaction was said to be worth up to AUD 150m. It was funded in part by an AUD 250m debt refinancing package for OAC.

The company had about 40 early education facilities when Bain bought it, while the Little Learning deal brought another 20. Now there are approximately 75 OAC campuses across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. About two-thirds are located within the Greater Sydney area. Revenue came to approximately USD 140m in 2021.

Bright Horizons said in a filing that the acquisition would complement its existing operations in the US and Europe. The company will pay AUD 300m on closing and an additional AUD 150m 18 months later.

With the addition of OAC, Bright Horizons will operate nearly 1,100 childcare centres across the US, UK, Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company generated USD 1.75bn in revenue last year and USD 70.5m in net profit. Bain’s US private equity business owned Bright Horizons between 2008 and 2013, when the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

“I am very proud of the work the OAC family has accomplished over the last 20 years and very much look forward to our next chapter as part of Bright Horizons. We believe this partnership will allow us to leverage Bright Horizons’ leadership in the early childhood education field and enable us to further capitalise on the growth opportunities we see ahead,” said OAC CEO John Burns.

Bain’s childcare exposure in Australia also includes after school care provider Camp Australia. In 2017, a year after buying the business, a merger with Junior Adventures Group (JAG) was agreed and later abandoned in the face of concerns from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

In 2018, Quadrant Private Equity acquired JAG, facilitating a partial exit for previous majority owner Advent Partners.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Australasia
• Trade sale
• Consumer
• Australia
• Education
• Bain Capital Asia