UAE: Gulf Islamic Investments buys stake in Dubai's Gems Education

The investment will support Gems in maintaining and expanding its position as the largest private education provider in the region

Published: Thu 18 Jul 2024, 12:03 PM

Last updated: Thu 18 Jul 2024, 4:53 PM

Gulf Islamic Investments group (GII) on Thursday said it invested in a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management to buy stake in the Dubai-based Gems Education.

Investment from the Brookfield-led consortium, which includes GII, will support Gems in maintaining and expanding its position as the largest private K-12 education provider in the Middle East.

GII, which has over $4.5 billion of assets under management (AuM), said this investment was the second transaction with Brookfield this year. In April 2024, GII sold its majority shareholding in its UAE logistics business to Brookfield for an undisclosed amount.

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Gems is the largest private school operator in the Middle East. It expects to welcome more than 140,000 students across its 46 schools in the UAE and Qatar by September 2024, including two schools opening in the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi this August.

“Gems has experienced significant growth over its recent history, becoming one of the world’s most respected education companies. These investments demonstrate the breadth of the business, the educational quality, and the critical infrastructure that we deliver collectively for the UAE,” said Sunny Varkey, founder of Gems Education.

“The UAE’s spectacular economic growth is founded on a strong educational base, empowered by the leadership’s support and attitude that ‘nothing is impossible’. Our investment in Gems will allow the company to supercharge the next phase of its growth plans,” said Pankaj Gupta, GII’s co-founder and co-CEO.

“As established investors, GII has a track record of investments across the GCC in several verticals, including in education, healthcare, logistics, food, education and real estate,” said Mohammed Alhassan, co-founder and co-CEO of GII.