Evolve puts Porse unit on the market after strategic review

Tuesday 3rd April 2018

Evolve Education Group, which raised $132 million in a 2014 public offering to acquire and bundle a group of childcare and home-help businesses, has put its Porse in-home childcare business up for sale after a strategic review.

The announcement follows the company's second profit warning in February when it said net new enrolments didn't meet its target and it was likely to write down goodwill on acquisitions.

"The decision follows a strategic review of Porse and its fit with Evolve’s core activity of centre-based early childhood education," said chief executive Mark Finlay, in a statement. "The review has shown that the two businesses are serving quite different and distinct markets, with limited overlap between the two activities. Consequently, potential synergies between centre-based and home-based early childhood education have been limited."

Porse accounts for less than 5 percent of Evolve earnings, he said. The company will retain its other home-based business, Au Pair Link, alongside its early childcare centres (ECEs) - Lollipops Educare and Leaps and Bounds.

Evolve went public in 2014 after selling shares in an IPO at $1 apiece. They last traded at 52 cents, having dropped about 20 percent following the February downgrade.

(BusinessDesk)

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