KinderCare Education history

Expansion of the centers continued apace, as the company went public in 1972.

Growth prompted the company to divide its operations into six geographical regions, managed by regional directors, in 1975.

The company's first major acquisition came in 1977, when it purchased the 15 facilities of Playcare.

The company was also continuing its tradition of fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, for which it become a national corporate sponsor in 1985.

The company found itself in deep financial trouble after the stock market crash in October 1987.

The company continued operating, although, according to a 1988 Forbes article, less than half of Kinder-Care's sales and profits for the year were expected to come from its child care centers.

Next, Mendel and Grassgreen accepted a 1989 offer from the Lodestar Group, a New York investment banking firm, for a rights offering, in which shareholders would generate new equity capital through their purchase of Kinder-Care stock from Enstar at a discount price.

During this period, Tull Gearreald, an investment banker, took command of the company as president and CEO. Caught in a cash squeeze in January 1991, Kinder-Care stopped paying interest on its debt.

Still faltering under its high debt load, KinderCare filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 10, 1992.

By 1994, KinderCare was preparing to open its first center in the United Kingdom and expected to open five to seven more centers within the next two years.

He founded Knowledge Universe, Inc., a consumer and business education company, in 1996.

KinderCare was acquired in 2005 by the Knowledge Learning Corporation (KLC) division of Michael Milken's privately held education services firm, Knowledge Universe.

In July 2015, Partners Group, a Swiss enterprise, bought Knowledge Universe.