Amanat Holdings, the GCC’s largest Investment Company solely focused on healthcare and education, announced today that it has increased its ownership in Taaleem Holdings, one of the UAE’s largest providers of K-12 primary and secondary education, to 21.7 per cent for a total investment of Dh52 million ($14.16 million).

 

In April 2016, Amanat acquired a 16.34 per cent stake in Taaleem Holdings, for Dh146 million. The new investment represents a 5.3 per cent additional stake in Taaleem Holdings, making Amanat the largest shareholder in Taaleem. This increase in investment is a testimony of Amanat’s belief in Taaleem long term direction.  

 

Taaleem Holdings is one of the leading providers of early childhood, primary and secondary education. The group currently operates through ten facilities (seven schools and three nurseries) in the UAE and has a capacity of 11,000 students with current enrolment figures of around 9,000 students.  It offers premium education across multiple curricula, including British, American and International Baccalaureate, as well as a multi-lingual early childhood programme. Its operations are closely integrated, with the vast majority of nursery students progressing to one of the group’s primary schools. 

 

Hamad Al Shamsi, chairman of Amanat Holdings, said: “Today, I am delighted that we are further strengthening this partnership through acquiring a bigger stake in Taaleem and I look forward to exploring the next potential growth opportunities together. Taaleem Holdings was our first investment in the education sector in the UAE, and we were always keen on increasing our stake in it at the right price as we firmly believed in its model and positioning. To date, our journey with Taaleem has been in alignment with our vision of creating a smarter society. 

 

"Taaleem’s like-minded management team also complements our approach to growing the business and the development of the UAE Education sector. We will continue to deliver on creating long term sustainable value for our shareholders while pursuing our mission to enhancing peoples’ prosperity - physically, intellectually and financially.”

 

Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, vice chairman and managing director of Amanat, added: “We are very proud of the progress Taaleem has accomplished since our investment last year, and we continue to be committed to working alongside them to ensure that the group delivers world class education. Today, Taaleem’s operations spans across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with two schools scoring an outstanding rating in each emirate. Our latest investment highlights our commitment to a valued partner like Taaleem, and to the wider education sector. Our focus for the coming months will be to continue working closely with the Taaleem team to expand student enrollment and capacity and drive growth for the company. This is in line with our distinctive collaborative investment model that allows us to continue growing our partners’ businesses, while generating sound returns for investors and shareholders alike. I believe Amanat has the capital, expertise and passion to support Taaleem and drive the investment demands needed to further develop this sector.” - TradeArabia News Service