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Charities bidding to buy the collapsed ABC Learning childcare chain want to rebrand the business as Good Start centres, offering daycare to the disadvantaged.
Private equity group Archer Capital is vying against the charitable consortium, which involves Mission Australia, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, the Benevolent Society and Social Ventures Australia.
The Good Start group is borrowing money and tapping private philanthropists to help fund its bid.
If it does buy ABC Learning's 705 remaining childcare centres -- which still control 15 per cent of the Australian market -- Good Start plans to run them as community-based, low-profit centres that would help children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Investors would be paid below-market rates of return on their investments, with the rest of any profits from childcare fees ploughed back into the centres to improve the quality of service.
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The rival to the Good Start consortium is Archer Capital, a private equity group with a $2 billion portfolio that includes Rebel Sport, Homy Ped and Cellarmasters Group.
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- reprinted from The Australian