Amanat sees Saudi K-12 schools opportunity after $95m Taaleem stake sale

Amanat sees Saudi K-12 schools opportunity after $95m Taaleem stake sale
Amanat has sold its 21.7 percent stake in UAE schools group Taaleem. (Supplied)
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Updated 29 April 2021
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Amanat sees Saudi K-12 schools opportunity after $95m Taaleem stake sale

Amanat sees Saudi K-12 schools opportunity after $95m Taaleem stake sale
  • Amanat sells stake sold to an undisclosed investor
  • Acute care and rehabilitation also seen as opportunity

DUBAI: Amanat Holdings sees “tremendous opportunies” in the Saudi K-12 education market, its CEO disclosed on Thursday.
It follows the sale of of its 21.7 percent stake in UAE schools group Taaleem to an undisclosed buyer for 350 million dirhams ($95.3 million).
The sale generated a total cash return of 225 million dirhams, it said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
Taaleem operates some of UAE's best known schools that include Dubai British School, American Academy for Girls and Raha International School.
The education-to-health care investor had built its stake in the company after initially acquiring a 16.3 percent holding in April 2016.
“Looking ahead, in line with our strategic roadmap to establish specialized platforms in both health care and education with operational capabilities, our investment mandate will remain focused on K-12 and higher education as well as specialized health care including post-acute care,” said Amanat CEO Mohamad Hamade.
In a later interview with Bloomberg TV, Hamade said he saw a “tremendous opportunity” in the Saudi K12 education market as well as in Egypt and the UAE.
Asked if the company was also interested in purchasing the UAE assets of NMC Health, the UAE’s largest hospital operator, he said: “We are always interested in good assets that create value for our shareholders.”