Brookfield Weighs Investment in #Dubai’s GEMS Education - Bloomberg

Brookfield Weighs Investment in Dubai’s GEMS Education - Bloomberg

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is in talks to invest in Dubai-based GEMS Education, one of the world’s largest private school operators, people familiar with the matter said.

The Canadian firm is considering investing about $2 billion in GEMS, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private. The potential deal could allow CVC Capital Partners to exit its stake in GEMS, according to the people.

GEMS is controlled by founder Sunny Varkey. There’s no certainty the discussions will lead to an agreement, and other suitors could still emerge, the people said.

Brookfield didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. Spokespeople for GEMS and CVC declined to comment.

A successful deal would cap a process that began in 2022 and also drew interest from an Abu Dhabi-based consortium. It would also mark another multibillion-dollar bet on Dubai’s future by Brookfield, which previously invested in retail assets owned by the emirate’s government and built the financial district’s tallest office tower with the city’s main sovereign wealth fund.

GEMS, whose roots go back about 60 years, operates more than 60 schools across the Middle East but its center of gravity lies in Dubai, the city popular with expats who are among the world’s biggest spenders on private education. The population of the emirate, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, has been swelling as the city emerged as a favored destination worldwide during Covid.

Varkey held talks to sell some of his stake in GEMS in 2020, but struggled to find buyers amid the pandemic, with schools and universities shutting down as part of global lockdowns. The firm had also considered a stock market listing in 2019, but those plans were scuppered by Dubai’s move to unexpectedly freeze school fees.

Dubai-based deNovo Partners is advising Varkey and the company, according to the people.