BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 18. The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) is part of a consortium led by Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. investing in GEMS Education, a Dubai-based international education company, SOFAZ told Trend.
Brookfield Asset Management aims to invest approximately $2 billion into the education firm.
In addition to Brookfield, the consortium includes Dubai-based Gulf Islamic Investments and Marathon Asset Management. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory and other customary conditions.
This transaction concludes a sale process that commenced in 2022. Previously, the Varkey Foundation attempted to sell part of its stake in 2020, but the effort was unsuccessful due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
GEMS Education currently enrolls more than 135,000 students across over 40 schools in the United Arab Emirates.
GEMS Education, founded as Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), is an international education company. Through its consultancy division, GEMS Education Solutions, the company works internationally with public and private sector clients on school improvement initiatives.
Founded and headquartered in Dubai, GEMS has offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Kenya.