Website www.kindercare.com Type of business Private | Founded 1996 | |
Headquarters Portland, Oregon, United States Subsidiaries KinderCare Learning Centers | ||
Our educators are our heroes become a part of the kindercare education story it s a great one
KinderCare Education (formerly Knowledge Universe) is a privately held education services firm, co-founded by Michael Milken and his brother Lowell in 1996. The firm is one of Oregon's largest privately held companies and a large employer in the Portland metropolitan area. Executive leadership is based out of the Portland National Support Center for KinderCare Education. In 2012, company revenues were about $1.45 billion, down from approximately $1.6 billion in 2010.
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History
The company was founded in 1996 by brother Michael and Lowell Milken. In 1998, Children's Discovery Centers was acquired by Knowledge Universe Learning Group and in 1999 the company started Knowledge Beginnings. In 2003, the company was renamed as Knowledge Learning Corporation (KLC) and acquired ARAMARK Educational Resources, adding more than 700 Children's World Learning Centers, as well as the Medallion onsite and before- and after-school programs for elementary school students. KLC purchased EdSolutions in 2004, which had provided Supplemental Educational Services (SES) before- and after-school programs for 2,300 children in four states, which then merged with Medallion to form the KLC School Partnerships division. In January 2005, KLC merged with KinderCare. Tom Wyatt, a former CEO of Old Navy, was hired as Knowledge Universe CEO in 2012. In July 2015, Partners Group bought Knowledge Universe. Knowledge Universe renamed itself as KinderCare Education in January 2016.
Financials
KinderCare Education is the parent company of several operations, including: KinderCare, Knowledge Beginnings, Children’s Creative Learning Centers (CCLC), and Champions. In April 2012, Standard & Poor's lowered its ratings on Knowledge Universe Education LLC, including its corporate credit rating, to 'B-' from 'B+', and placed its ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. The rating action was based on weaker-than-expected performance, rising debt leverage, and strained liquidity.