A consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management has announced an agreement to become the lead investor in Dubai-based K12 education giant GEMS Education.
GEMS and Brookfield did not make public the size of the investment but said in a joint statement on June 18 that the private equity firm CVC Capital partners will exit its 30% stake in GEMS as part of the agreement.
“We are well positioned for future growth, thanks to a supportive operating environment that is driving record enrolments, underpinned by a strong UAE economy and a growing population,” said Dino Varkey, GEMS CEO.
“We believe that Brookfield is the right investment partner to help us realise our ambitions as we look to the next phase of growth,” he added.
Subject to conditions, the deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2024, which ends in September.
GEMS began in 1959 as a single school in Dubai. It is now the largest private school provider in the region, with 42 schools currently operating across the UAE and Qatar and an additional two opening in August 2024.
We are well positioned for future growth, thanks to a supportive operating environment that is driving record enrolments, underpinned by a strong UAE economy and a growing population
Dino Varkey, GEMS
GEMS delivers teaching across British, IB, American and Indian curriculars and recorded record enrolment exceeding 140,000 students last year.
In 2021, GEMS Education partnered with Arizona State University in the US, offering college credits to students while at school.
This August, GEMS will open two new schools in Dubai South and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, bringing the total number of schools to 44.
The new school in Masdar City will have a particular focus on the sustainability of the curriculum and of the building itself, appropriately located in Abu Dhabi’s green city – which aims to be net-zero by 2050.
Other investors in the K12 operator include Gulf Islamic Investments, Marathon Asset Management and the state oil fund of Azerbaijan.
GEMS simultaneously secured financing commitments from a consortium of UAE banks to finance the transaction, including funding the repayment of the company’s existing financial arrangements, it said.
Brookfield, the Toronto-based fund manager, had USD$900 billion in assets as of 2023 and focusses on property, renewable energy, infrastructure and private equity.
Its investment into GEMS signals the continued strength of K12 education in the region, with analysts predicting double-digit annual growth.
“As a long-term, operationally focused investor, Brookfield’s partnership with the family and the GEMS community demonstrates the breadth of the business, the quality of the education, and the critical infrastructure that we deliver for the UAE,” said Sunny Varkey, GEMS founder.
Since going public in 1997, Brookfield has become the lead investor of 25 companies, and recently partnered with UAE-backed Alterra to raise up to $5 billion for a climate finance-focused fund that will invest in clean energy projects in emerging markets.