Bahrain-based Addax Bank said the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will make an equity investment in its associate company First Education Holding (FEH).

Addax Bank is a premier financial institution focused on investments in the Mena region.

IFC’s equity financing will support the growth of Addax Bank’s education business through the acquisition of two established schools in Jordan, said its top official.

FEH is Addax Bank’s education platform, focused on acquiring and managing schools from Kindergarten to Grade 12 across the Middle East region.  FEH owns and manages schools in Egypt and the UAE.

The Jordan acquisition will be the company’s fourth acquisition and will bring the total student enrollment to over 7,000.

“This investment illustrates Addax’s success in establishing and creating long term value in its portfolio companies and validates the growth potential of sectors such as education,' said Yousef Al Essa, CEO of Addax Bank and chairman of FEH.

'As a founding shareholder, Addax is proud to have created a major Mena-based education platform and to have expanded the Company’s shareholder base to include a quality institutional investor such as the IFC,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service