Dubai’s GEMS Education has secured a new $3.25 billion sustainability-linked financing facility from a consortium of local lenders.
This facility, coupled with an investment from regional and international investors led by Brookfield Asset Management, enables GEMS to refinance its existing debt and buy out the majority of its minority shareholders.
The financing facility was underwritten by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Mashreq Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and First Abu Dhabi Bank. Dr. Adnan Chilwan, CEO of DIB, highlighted the bank's pivotal role in orchestrating the deal over several months, demonstrating its strong relationship with key clients like GEMS and its capability to manage complex transactions involving multiple stakeholders.
The Brookfield-led consortium’s investment 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.
Since its inception in 1959, GEMS Education has grown from a single school to one of the world’s largest providers of private K-12 education, educating 140,000 students. The institution offers various international school curricula across multiple price points and provides adjacent services such as school transportation and after-school activities.
This investment will allow CVC Capital Partners to substantially exit its stake in GEMS, five years after its initial investment marked CVC's first private equity venture in the Gulf.
In addition to the consortium’s investment, GEMS secured funds from a group of UAE banks to finance the transaction and repay its existing debt arrangements. Brookfield’s investment was made through its special investments and Middle East private equity programs.
GEMS Education received advisory services from deNovo Partners, a Dubai-based boutique founded by former Morgan Stanley banker May Nasrallah, and Goldman Sachs Group.
News Source: Gulf Business
