Sign in
Our friends at EFG Hermes are investing USD 300 mn to establish a K-12 operator in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region through a newly-launched Saudi Education Fund (SEF), according to a press release (pdf). The fund aims to capitalize on the growing private school market, which it said is set to more than double. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
The fund acquired several schools across the GCC: SEF has acquired seven schools from GFH Financial Group under the Britus Education brand. Four of the schools are in the Kingdom, including Britus International Schools Al Olaya, Education Gate International School Al Rawdah, Education Gate International School Almurabba, and Bright Life International School. This is in addition to two schools in the UAE and one in Bahrain. Together, the schools can accommodate 12k students, with 8k already enrolled.
About Britus: Britus Education is a Manama-based network of schools offering affordable, high-quality education to students across the Kingdom, Bahrain, the UAE and Tunisia, according to its webpage. The operator provides a wide range of international curricula including the British Curriculum, US Common Core Curriculum, IB Diploma Programme and the Egyptian Curriculum.
Same play, new stage: “Drawing on the expertise and insights we’ve gained over the past five years while establishing Egypt’s premier K-12 operator, Egypt Education Platform (EEP), we are poised to deliver exceptional educational services to our new student populations. Through this investment, we are committed to ensuring that Britus Education flourishes and adapts to the dynamic needs of students and communities throughout the region,” said Karim Moussa, Co-CEO of EFG Hermes.
What’s EEP? Launched in 2018 under EFG Hermes’ first education fund, the platform has built a diverse portfolio of 25 assets in Egypt, including 23 schools and pre-schools offering five curricula with a capacity of 25k students, an educational content business (“Selah El Telmeez”) serving 3-4 mn students annually, and a transportation service (“Option Travel”) catering to over 3k students daily.
ADVISORS- PwC Middle East acted as the financial and tax advisor to SEF, with White & Case providing counsel.
