Busy Bees Childcare makes two acquisitions, in US and Italy

Busy Bees Childcare, the UK headquartered, global early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider with a significant presence in Australia has expanded into the United States with the acquisition of Connecticut based Educational Playcare and into Italy with the acquisition of bilingual provider Doremi. The acquisition of Educational Playcare marks Busy Bees Childcare’s first foray into the US and the acquisition of Doremi marks the Group’s first presence in the Italian market.  Following the acquisitions of the two groups, Busy Bees Childcare now cares for more than 55,000 children across 630 sites globally, including centres in the UK and Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Australia and now in the United States and Italy.  Commenting on the acquisitions Simon Irons, Group CEO of Busy Bees said: “ We are pleased to welcome Educational Playcare and Doremi to the Busy Bees family and, in doing so, supporting more children, families and staff than ever before. These latest acquisitions allow us to enter two new markets in the United States and Italy, strengthening our global portfolio and bringing further talent into the Busy Bees business.”   Educational Playcare joins the Busy Bees global platform Educational Playcare founded in 1986 by Jane Porterfield at a single location in Avon, Connecticut provides care for up to 4,300 children from the age of six weeks to five years, as well as after school care for children up to the age of 12.  Ms Porterfield earned her BA in Education from LaSalle University and her MA in early childhood education from St Joseph's College and as well as running the Educational Playcare Group has been active in the ECEC community in a number of different roles.  Her partner Gerry Pastor joined Educational Playcare in 2001 and since then they have both been intimately involved with their growing network of centres since. Commenting on the acquisition Ms Porterfield commented “After a period of diligent consideration we are very happy that we have chosen the right path for Educational Playcare by partnering with Busy Bees. I see clearly how our mission to deliver the highest quality experience for families, their children and our employees closely aligns with Busy Bees’ core values and excellent reputation for providing high quality care.”  Doremi represents Busy Bees first move in to Continental Europe Doremi, which was founded in 1993, currently operates seven centres in and around Milan, Italy with a total of 359 license places available for children between the ages of twelve weeks and six years old.  The provider is known for its bilingual services and a curriculum where play based learning is viewed as the keystone.  Commenting on the acquisition Federica Ortalli, Co-founder of Doremi, added “As we consider the future success of the children in our care a key priority, choosing Busy Bees as our new partner was a logical and straightforward decision for us. We are proud to be working with Busy Bees given its industry-renowned reputation for excellent quality child care, which is synonymous with our own forward-thinking approach.” For more information on Busy Bees Childcare please click here.