EFG Hermes, a leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets, announced on Monday that its private equity division's K-12 education vehicle entered into definite agreements with Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) to acquire a portfolio of schools in a EGP 1bn deal. The effort is part of a strategic alliance to develop and operate new national and international schools in the cities of Madinaty and Al Rehab in Egypt. GEMS Education, one of the world's leading providers of private English-language education for students from kindergarten to twelfth grade (K-12) and EFG Hermes' exclusive education partner in Egypt, will take over the operation and management of the four schools. "We are proud to be part of such a strategic alliance, which falls in line with our strategy to continuously improve the level of services offered to our growing communities in Madinaty and Al Rehab," said Hesham Talaat Moustafa, TMG CEO, adding, "we are always trying to bring the best-in-class service providers to our potential 1 million residents in both cities and the new alliance with EFG Hermes and GEMS Education is a strong testament to our commitment to that target." "I am pleased to announce our platform's first investment in the Egyptian education market with the acquisition of one of Egypt's largest student bodies," said Karim Moussa, head of asset management and private equity at EFG Hermes, adding, "we will capitalise on the top-tier facilities developed by TMG in the four schools alongside our exclusive partnership with GEMS Education to offer the residents of Madinaty and Al Rehab a world-class educational service." "GEMS Education is committed to providing quality education throughout our network of schools. This joint venture allows us to bring more than 50 years of educational excellence to Egypt. Students will be able to benefit from our global experience, coupled with access to an extensive network, which offers multiple opportunities for the future," said Dino Varkey, CEO at GEMS Education. EFG Hermes will finance the equity component of the transaction on its own balance sheet under its merchant banking strategy, as it has successfully done in the European renewable energy sector through its vortex platform.
