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1997 will be remembered as the year that Wall Street embraced the for profit child care world. Throughout the 1990s, financiers have demonstrated growing interest in child care as an investment opportunity - in fact, several child care companies made successful public offerings in the mid '90s, although the track record of their stocks has been a bit inconsistent. In 1997, however, several developments heralded a breakthrough . . .


- In January, takeover giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took KinderCare Learning Centers private by purchasing 85% of the shares of the largest child care chain.

- In August, CorporateFamily Solutions raised $27 million in a successful initial public offering.

- In September, Education Alternatives, known for its Tesseract elementary school programs, agreed to acquire regional child care chain Sunrise Educational Services.

- In November, Bright Horizons Children's Centers raised $42 million in a successful initial public offering.

Another indication of growing interest in child care by ...