Brookfield-led consortium agrees to invest in Dubai’s GEMS Education

A consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management said on Tuesday that it has agreed to invest in Dubai-based private education provider GEMS Education.

GEMS said in a statement that the transaction is expected to be completed in Q3 2024, subject to conditions.

Other investors in the deal include Dubai-based Gulf Islamic Investments, Marathon Asset Management and the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Financial details were not disclosed, but Bloomberg has previously reported that the Canadian firm was looking to invest about $2bn.

“GEMS has experienced significant growth over our 65-year history and has become one of the world’s most respected education companies,” said Sunny Varkey, founder of GEMS.

“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 we deliver for the UAE.”

GEMS has grown from a single school, following the arrival of the founding family as teachers in Dubai in 1959, to become one of the world’s largest providers of private K-12 education, educating 140,000 students.

The private education provider offers various international school curricula across multiple price points, with adjacent services, including school transportation and after-school activities.

The investment will allow CVC Capital Partners to substantially exit its GEMS stake five years after it bought into the firm in a deal that marked its first private equity foray in the Gulf.

Separately, GEMS said it had secured funds from a group of UAE banks to finance the transaction, including for the repayment of the firms’ existing arrangements.

Brookfield invested through its special investments and Middle East private equity programs.

GEMS Education was advised by deNovo Partners – a Dubai-based boutique founded by former Morgan Stanley banker May Nasrallah – and Goldman Sachs Group.

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