The new owner of GEMS Education would be unable to unilaterally raise school fees, the Dubai private school regulator told Arabian Business.
The owners of GEMS Education, the world’s largest private school operators, are considering options that include the sale of ownership stake in the business in a deal worth as much as $6 billion. As potential buyers have circled, experts have previously warned that urgent clarifications would be needed to ease fears that GEMS pupils could face fee rises.
“Any change of ownership at any existing private school in Dubai will only impact the owner’s details on the school’s permit. All other details, including school fees, will remain the same,” the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Dubai’s private school regulator, said in an email to Arabian Business.
“Any existing schools that wish to increase or change the school fees must follow the fee framework, which outlines the education cost index and any permitted fee increases.”
GEMS Education is one of the oldest and largest Kindergarten to Grade 12 / Year 13 private education providers in the world. Founded in the UAE in 1959, it now has schools in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. In the MENA region alone, it owns and operates over 60 schools, serving in excess of 130,000 students.
It is believed that the owners are examining many options, which include the sale of ownership stake in the business.
CVC Capital and Sunny Varkey may sell their stakes in a deal that could value the school chain at as much as $6 billion, unnamed sources told Bloomberg. Large financial sponsors and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds are currently looking into the business, the owners are working with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to the Bloomberg source.
CVC Capital bought a stake in GEMS Education in 2019, prior to which the entirety was owned by Varkey.
Varkey took over operations of Our Own English High School in 1980, which had around 400 students at the time, and established Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) in 2000.
In 2021, the global education market was estimated to be worth around $86 billion. Post-pandemic – despite a huge increase in online learning – annual growth rates of 10 percent are expected for the next six years.
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