MEDILL REPORTS
CHICAGO
Demonstrators lash Bain Capital over future of childcare centers
by Maude Standish
Jul 31, 2008
The group of 70 demonstrated Thursday in front of Bain Capital LLC’s Chicago offices. Holding homemade signs, the group expressed concern that Bain’s recent takeover of Watertown, Mass.- based Bright Horizons Family Solutions would lessen the quality of services locally provided by the company's centers.
Demonstrations were also held at Bain offices in Boston, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
“Bain has a reputation of coming and cutting jobs and that’s cause for concern,” said Faith Arnold, a Chicago childcare provider. She added that Bright Horizons has played an important role for many Chicagoans. “They provide quality care to children, support for working families and jobs for educators. They have been very important in the childcare profession,” she said.
To read the rest of the story, go to: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=96211 .
Kids First
public news service
NEWS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Chicago Rally Today: Profits Shouldn’t be Child’s Play
July 31, 2008
Chicago , IL – Profits shouldn't be "child's play," according to parents and childcare experts who are rallying in Chicago today. They're protesting an investment firm buyout of Bright Horizons, one the country's largest childcare providers.
Faith Arnold, a childcare provider in the Chicago area, explains the protestors want Bain Capital Partners to commit to high quality, not just corporate profits, with their decision to purchase the chain.
"We want to make sure that our children are first priority. Profit is not our concern; our concern is our children."
To read the rest of the story, and listen to the audio clip, go to: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/5818-1
THE HUFFINGTON POST
Peaceful Revolution: When is the "Big Business" of Child Care
Too Big for our Little Kids?
By
Kathy Williams
“ ... Child care providers like me are joining
together with parents, teachers, community advocates, and others who have been
working to improve the quality of child care, and we are calling on Bain
Capital to commit to providing quality child care at Bright Horizons Centers.
We are going to make sure Bain Capital moves Bright Horizons forward, not
backward. ...”
To read the rest of
the story, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-williams/ipeaceful-revolutioni-wheb117156.html
Child Care Chain Buyout Cause for Community Protests from Boston to L.A.
Rallies will be held in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 31, to protest Bain Capital Partners’ buyout of the country’s third largest for-profit child care provider — Bright Horizons Family Solutions. Coalitions of concerned parents, community leaders, union members and child care advocates will talk about the threats posed by the buyout and issue demands that the chain’s new owners improve the quality of child care.
Bain Capital Buyout of Bright Horizons a “Done Deal”
Buyout includes millions of dollars in fees and $850 million in new debt
On May 7, 2008, shareholders approved the sale of Bright Horizons Family Solutions to the private equity giant Bain Capital Partners, and two weeks later it was finalized. The $1.3 billion buyout includes more than 600 centers serving over 70,000 children.