KEY POINTS:
Kidicorp, New Zealand's largest private childcare operator, has snapped up two more Montessori centres, a continuation of its national expansion plans.
The two centres, both in Wellington, bring the number of children the company is licensed for close to 4000, and the number of centres it runs to 80.
Last week Kidicorp's share price rose from just below 18c to close at 20c on Friday.
Chief executive Wayne Wright said yesterday he was not sure why there had been a run on shares.
"It's a well-known fact that we don't run on full capacity at our centres so people might have deduced from that that there were some more [centres] coming down the line."
The transactions had showed there had been no one buyer, he said.
Shares closed last night at 23c.
Kidicorp said last week it would join the Government's programme offering 20 hours each week of free early childhood education for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds starting on July 1.
Further Montessori acquisitions and developments are planned around the country. A new centre in St Lukes, Auckland, will open in the first half of the year with spaces for 80 children in the pre-school and 40 in the before and after school programme.
In March the pre-school stage of Kidicorp Children's Campu,s offering two pre-school sites providing specialised programmes for 100 children and after school programmes for 50 children, will open.
Work starts this week on a new centre in Tauranga for 70 children.
