ABC Learning

ABC Learning was an Australian company that was once the world's largest provider of early childhood education services. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with its market capitalisation reaching A$2.5 billion in March 2006. The company went into administrative receivership after a fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis caused debt repayments to overwhelm the company, and the auditors failed to sign off on the financial reports citing the need to recast previous year's reported profits.[1]

ABC Developmental Learning Centres
TypePublic company
ASX: ABS
IndustryEarly Childhood Education
Fatevoluntary liquidated in 2009, acquired by Goodstart Early Learning
SuccessorGoodstart Early Learning
Founded1988
Defunct2010
HeadquartersBrisbane, Australia
Key people
Eddy Groves, CEO
OwnerGoodstart Early Learning
ABC Learning Centres Ashmont Central in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

ABC Learning went into voluntary liquidation in 2008 and was bought by Goodstart Limited in December 2009. Goodstart was created by a partnership of organisations; The Benevolent Society, Mission Australia, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Social Ventures Australia. It now operates over 650 former ABC Learning centres across Australia.

History

ABC Developmental Learning Centres was founded in 1988 in Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland. ABC rapidly expanded, reaching 43 childcare centres by 30 June 2001. By 2003, ABC Learning had acquired 230 child care centers and entered into an agreement to acquired another 40 child care centers from Childs Family Kindergartens for $40 million[2].By November 2005, it had 697 Early Childhood Education centres throughout Australia and New Zealand. In March 2006, it forecast that would have 950 centres in Australia and New Zealand by 30 June 2006.

In 2005, ABC purchased the third largest childcare operator in the United States, Learning Care Group Inc., which itself operated 467 centres in the US and other educational facilities in south-east Asia. The purchase provided ABC Learning with 70,000 additional licensed childcare places in addition to the 50,000 it had previously. Other mergers with Peppercorn Management Group and the purchase of Child Care Centres Australia helped provide a considerable increase in the number of ABC's centres.[3]

At that time, the company planned to increase its number of centres by four a week.[3] In March 2006, ABC announced a bid for Kids Campus, one of its few remaining large competitors in Australia, which would give it over another 100 centres.[4]

On 12 December 2006, it was announced that ABC would acquire the second largest child care provider in the United States, Chicago based La Petite Academy for 330 million US dollars as well as the 5th largest provider in the United Kingdom, Busy Bees Group, Ltd. With these acquisitions they expanded into the UK market and increased their market share in the US to 1%.[5]

ABC expanded aggressively into the outsourcing of child care services, negotiating deals with some of Australia's largest employers including the Australian Department of Defence which involved taking over the Department's nineteen childcare facilities. Aside from offshore expansion, the company expanded into training and education. It ran the ABC Early Childhood Training College providing training for childcare workers, and published Small Wonders, a magazine aimed at parents with young children.

It was a highly profitable company, in the FY2004/5 recording net profit after tax of $52.3 million on total revenues of $292.7 million.[6] The six months ending 31 December 2005 showed no slowing in the financial momentum for the company with profit after tax reaching $38 million and revenues of $219.8 million.

ABC Developmental Learning Centres (ABC Learning) were the major sponsor of the Adelaide 36ers[7] and once owned the Brisbane Bullets[8][9] in the Australian National Basketball League.

In March 2008, ABC announced it would sell 60 percent of its American child care business to Morgan Stanley, using the proceeds to pay off accumulated debt.[10] The sale, which valued 100% of the US subsidiary Learning Care Group at US$700 million, also involved a replacement of three board members.[11][12]

ABC was voluntarily liquidated in 2008 and was acquired by GoodStart Childcare in December 2009.[13] Re-branded as "Goodstart Early Learning", the organisation is now a registered charity owned by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Mission Australia, The Benevolent Society and Social Ventures Australia.[14] As of February 2011[15] the CEO of Goodstart was British-born Julia Davison. Davison worked in hospital administration in Britain, then headed government agencies in South Australia.[14]

Controversy and criticisms

Critics of ABC Learning said it was making considerable profits at the expense of Australian taxpayers whose money subsidised the use of childcare with means-tested tax rebates. In addition, the peak body for community-based childcare services in NSW, Community Child Care Co-operative (NSW), argued the profits of ABC Learning were built upon inequitable low staff wages and cost-cutting, which was detrimental to the quality of education and care, and that the business model would not be sustainable.[16]

There was also controversy about the dramatic expansion of the company with claims that in some areas ABC - by acquisition - had achieved a monopoly in the provision of childcare services. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reviewed the company's acquisition of Peppercorn and permitted the deal to go ahead after imposing certain conditions including a requirement to close centres in some areas and agreeing not to purchase in other areas.[17]

ABC Learning also used its considerable financial resources to support challenges to regulations governing childcare and enforcing vicarious liability on the company. In one case, in 2006 it challenged a $200 fine imposed by a Victorian Magistrate for the actions of its staff who failed to adequately supervise a two-year-old child who escaped from a centre in suburban Melbourne and was found by a neighbour and brought back to the centre. It argued that the company had done all it could reasonably be expected to do to provide facilities that made escape difficult and that any legal liability should rest with the staff involved.[18]

In August 2006, ABC Learning pleaded guilty to 'Failing to Enclose' in the Fremantle Magistrates Court and were fined $1300. A three-year-old boy escaped from the centre in Lynwood in Western Australia, through a broken fence and was found by staff in a nearby car park.[19]

The company was under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.[20]

Financial troubles

ABC was once the largest publicly listed child-care operator in the world. It had a market capitalisation of $4.1 billion. When its shares were suspended from trading at 54c, the company's worth was $296 million.[21]

An unexpected drop of 42 per cent in profit in the second half of 2007 to $37.1 million and its inability to service its $1.8 billion debt triggered a decline in the company's share price. Several directors of the company were then forced to dump millions of shares after receiving margin calls. The combined effects caused the share price to plummet 43% to $2.15 after trading as low as $1.15.[22] By the end of the selling, founder Edmund/Eddy Groves and his wife sold virtually all of their stakes of 20 million and 6 million shares respectively while director Martin Kemp unloaded 2.7 million shares. The combined Groves' stake represented 8 per cent of the company.[23]

Trading in ABC Learning shares was suspended in August 2008 after the company failed to release its earnings for the 2007-08 financial year.[21]

Receivership and liquidation

Despite selling off assets, the company fell into receivership in November 2008 after increasing debt servicing obligations and its auditors were unable to sign off on its accounts.[20][1] The federal government injected $22 million into the company to keep its childcare centres open until the end of 2008.[24]

The company was subsequently delisted from the S&P/ASX 200.[25]

Creditors voted to wind up the company in June 2010.[26] 570 ABC Learning centres were taken over by Goodstart, a consortium of Mission Australia, the Benevolent Society, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Social Ventures Australia.[27]

References
  1. Smith, T & Fenner, R (6 November 2008). "ABC Learning Names Ferrier Hodgson Outside Manager (Update2)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  2. "ABC Learning on acquisition alert". Syndey Morning Herald. Syndey Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. Hills, Ben (11 March 2006). "Cradle snatcher". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media.
  4. Ambler, Emma (16 March 2006). "It's all ABC on Kids Campus". The Age. Melbourne: FaifaxDigital. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  5. "ABC Buys La Petite Academy and Busy Bees". Business Wire. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  6. "ABC Learning Centres Limited 2005 Annual Report" (PDF). p. 43. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "ABC closes sale of 60pc in US arm". The Aiustralian. 5 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  11. "$742m US deal saves Groves' ABC". The Australian. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  12. "Morgan Stanley Private Equity Announces Agreement to Acquire Majority Stake in Learning Care Group, Inc. as Part of Joint Venture with A.B.C. Learning Centres". Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  13. "Goodstart is for early learning - From crisis to opportunity". Goodstart Early Learning. 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  14. Mariner, Cosima (20 May 2012). "What comes after ABC?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  15. "Goodstart - Our Board - Julia Davison". Goodstart Early Learning. 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  16. Jokovich, Eddy (1 December 2002). "The selling out of children's services". Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  17. "ACCC not to oppose ABC and Peppercorn Childcare merger". Retrieved 1 March 2008.
  18. "ABC Learning 'not liable' if kids stray". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  19. "Childcare centre fined for boy's escape". 4 August 2006. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  20. Sainsbury, M (6 November 2008). "ABC Learning forced into receivership". The Australian. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  21. Carson, V (6 November 2008). "ABC child care goes under". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  22. Kruger, Colin (27 February 2008). "Eddy faces annihilation as ABC board caught by margin calls". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  23. Glenda Korporaal & Kevin Meade (8 March 2008). "ABC Learning's Eddy stripped of stake". The Australian. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  24. Nader, Carol. (7 November 2008). "ABC gets $22m in state aid to stay open". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  25. "Standard and Poor's to Remove ABC Learning Centers Limited from S&P/ASX Indices". Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  26. Clark, Dea (3 June 2010). "ABC Learning to be wound up". Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  27. Daniel, Hurst (3 June 2010). "Failed ABC Learning wound up". BusinessDay.com.au. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
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