Saudi education provider sold to Dubai company

A Dubai based education company has acquired Saudi Arabia’s largest private school operator in a deal that is set to deepen ties between the two Gulf countries.

GEMS Education, one of the world’s largest private education providers said today that it had acquired Saudi Arabia’s Ma’arif Education Group in a joint venture with the kingdom’s Hassana Investment Co.

Financial details of the deal have not been released but, according to the Financial Times a person briefed on the deal has valued the investment between $500-$600 million.

With 22,000 students enrolled at a school run by Ma’arif Education, the partnership will expand the portfolio of GEMS which was founded in the UAE in 1959 and already owns and operates more than 50 schools with about 125,000 students across the Middle East and North Africa.

Read: Saudi students in US complain of threats, intimidation by MBS

Executives at the centre of the deal have described the companies in the joint venture has having “an unrivalled competitive advantage”.

According to the FT, the deal is a welcome relief to Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, who has been struggling to lure companies to invest in the kingdom following a number of serious mistakes including the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Education reform is one of the main reform targets of the Crown Prince who envisions a major shift into the private sector and away from government jobs. Riyadh is said to be targeting up to $11 billion in privatisation revenue by 2020. The ambitious reform includes expanding the non-government sector, selling state assets and forging public-private partnerships.