Miller Johnson Represents AppleTree & Gilden Woods in its Sale to Learning Care Group
The Transaction
Announced in July, 2022, Learning Care Group, Inc. acquired AppleTree & Gilden Woods, gaining 24 preschools serving Michigan families in the Grand Rapids, Holland, Ludington, Lansing, Kalamazoo and Detroit markets with one preschool for families in Apex, North Carolina. Learning Care Group is the second-largest for-profit early education and childcare provider in North America, which now includes more than 1,050 school locations.
“It’s been a privilege to have cared for and instilled a love of learning in more than 20,000 children during the past quarter century,” said AppleTree & Gilden Woods Founder and CEO, Bridgett VanDerhoff. “I’m confident that under Learning Care Group’s leadership, these schools will continue to provide families with the highest quality early education and care, sparking children’s curiosity while helping prepare them for a bright future.”
Miller Johnson acted as legal advisor to Gilden Woods in the transaction. Miller Johnson’s team was lead by Anne Marie Carson (M&A) and included Michael Penny (M&A), Chelsea Austin (M&A), Stephen Reaume (M&A), Wei Wang (M&A), Erik Daly (M&A), Dustin Daniels (M&A), Brandon Tomash (M&A), Neil Williams (Tax), Hunter Reams (Tax), Brandon Griffith (IP), Amy Murphy (Litigation), Alise Hildreth (Litigation), Ens (Real Estate), Grant Schertzing (Environmental), Richard Hillary (Employee Benefits), Jeffrey Gray (Employee Benefits), Tripp VanderWal (Employee Benefits), Nathan Plantinga (Employment), and Jason Crow (Cybersecurity).
AppleTree & Gilden Woods
(gildenwoods.com) Bridgett VanDerhoff opened her first AppleTree location in Grand Rapids, MI in 1998 with the dream of creating a premier child care and early education center that would provide a safe nurturing environment for her infant daughter. When it opened, it was the first childcare business in Michigan to install a secure internet camera system. Children ages 6 weeks to 10 years old can grow, learn, and thrive socially, academically, and emotionally. Age-appropriate curriculum and programming allow each child to master learning objectives at their own pace while preparing for Kindergarten and future life success.
Learning Care Group, Inc.
(learningcaregroup.com) Learning Care Group is a leader in childhood education, with more than 50 years of experience in inspiring children to love learning. Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Learning Care Group provides early education and care for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years through 11 unique brand and operates more than 1,050 locations across 39 states and has a capacity to serve more than 156,000 children.
Miller Johnson’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group
Miller Johnson’s M&A practice group collaborates with clients and their advisors to structure, negotiate and close deals and to navigate the challenges that can arise in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and other business combination or investment transactions.
Miller Johnson is top listed for mergers and acquisitions with U.S. News & World Report’s Best Law Firms and is ranked by Chambers USA. At The M&A Advisor’s national awards and the ACG M&A Deals and Dealmakers regional awards, our attorneys are consistently involved in deals honored as winners and finalists. For further information, please contact Anne Marie Carson at (616) 831-1787.