Busy Bees, which was bought by Australian company ABC Learning in December 2006, currently has 133 nurseries. Last week ABC's share prices plummeted and the company has appointed Goldman Sachs to deal with expressions of interest for parts of its business.
Early reports indicate private equity firms might be interested in buying up some or all of ABC's portfolio.
It is not known whether Busy Bees will be affected, although managing director John Woodward has insisted the UK organisation is "robust" and the future for the company is "bright".
Tricia Pritchard, senior policy officer at the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses, said: "This doesn't say much for the childcare market. When Busy Bees was first sold it caused a lot of discussion. Nobody wants to stop progression but we had concerns about big takeovers, particularly overseas takeovers. It creates nervousness."
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