KinderCare IPO: Stock price will be closely watched today as for-profit learning company makes long-delayed NYSE debut

BY Christopher Zara2 minute read At a time when the rising cost of childcare is a big topic of discussion in Washington politics, one company is betting that more investors will want a piece of the action on Wall Street. KinderCare Learning Companies, a for-profit provider of early-childhood education, or ECE, is finally making its long-awaited stock market debut. The Oregon-based company priced its stock at $24 a share on Tuesday, hitting the lower end of its target range of between $23 and $27 a share.

It listed Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol KLC. Here's what to know about KinderCare and its IPO: What is KinderCare? Backed by private equity firm Partners Group, the company calls itself the "largest private provider of high-quality ECE in the United States by center capacity," with a network of 1,500 learning centers and 900 before- and after-school sites around the country. It says it serves over 200,000 children from six weeks to 12 years of age.



KinderCare has a long and rather convoluted history. It was founded in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1969, and grew..

. Christopher Zara.