Kkr To Acquire Kindercare In $597 Million Deal

NEW YORK - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said it agreed to acquire KinderCare Learning Centers Inc. for $597 million in cash and debt.

The agreement, which is expected to close by January, calls for KinderCare shareholders to receive $20.25 for each of their shares. KKR also will assume about $130 million in KinderCare debt.

The acquisition comes as KinderCare - the nation's largest preschool and child-care company, with fiscal 1996 revenue of $541.3 million - has recovered since emerging in 1993 from bankruptcy proceedings resulting from junk-bond-based expansion.