"This company is another example of good assets destroyed by...

"This company is another example of good assets destroyed by mismanagement."

I'd agree to an extent CK. But i never really understood how the numbers added up on this one, in spite of the favourable demographics and so on that supported the story.

The childcare model in Australia, as far as i can deduce, is basically the same as that which is run for private schools - the government directly subsidises the childcare operator or private school, and then the parent kicks in the shortfall. Private schools, even after charging stratospheric fees to parents and receiving generous government subsidies, do not turn a profit (as far as i understand, private schools are forbidden from making a profit in Australia). Admittedly i can imagine that it would be cheaper to run a childcare centre than a private school as childcare workers are cheaper and the facilities less expansive than a private school, but just using the "smell test", if private schools cost that much to run and still don't turn a dime, then why was ABC Learning so attractive to start with?

Guess it's all moot now. People tend to only ask these questions after the fact, to their detriment.