GEMS Education Ltd is projecting to raise between US$650 million and US$1 billion during its initial public offering. The firm aims to become the world's largest school education provider with the listing on the bourse.
The privately owned provider of school education is based out of Dubai and is considering the fund sources from debt, equity and real estate partnerships. The goal is to build 21 new schools in the UAE, US and the UK within the next three years. The money raised in the IPO would also be used to boost the current capabilities of ten existing educational institutions.
According to COO Dino Varkey, "There is a significant amount of demand in the UAE, but also huge demand across Africa, across east and south Asia. Governments on their own cannot fund this demand, they cannot move fast enough to meet this demand."
He added, "To look at the potential growth of the private sector in education, you only need to look at the growth of the private sector in the health care industry over the last 40 years."
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