Amanat sells stake in education provider Taaleem for Dh350m

The divestment generated a total cash return of Dh225m for the company

Amanat first acquired a 16.3 per cent stake in Taaleem in 2016 but increased its holding in 2017. Courtesy Amanat

Dubai-listed Amanat sold its 21.7 per cent stake in UAE education provider Taaleem for Dh350 million ($95.3m).

The divestment resulted in a total cash return of Dh225m including dividends, Amanat said in a statement on Thursday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.

The company did not disclose the name of the buyer.

“The sale ... is a significant milestone for Amanat and marks its first exit in five years at a very attractive return,” Hamad Alshamsi, Amanat’s chairman, said.

“In line with our strategic objective to assess our existing portfolio and each investments’ suitability to our platform-model, we exited a minority position as an avenue to recycle the cash for other investment opportunities that are more strategically aligned as an influential shareholder.”

Amanat first acquired a 16.3 per cent stake in Taaleem in 2016, which increased to 21.7 per cent by the end of 2017. Taaleem is one of the largest providers of early childhood, primary and secondary education. The group currently operates nine institutions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Amanat also has investments in Abu Dhabi University Holding and Middlesex University Dubai. The company also owns the property assets of the North London Collegiate School in Dubai.

“We look forward to continuing, on what we believe is already a very promising start to the year, having acquired Cambridge Medical Rehabilitation Centre in February and having profitably exited a minority stake from Taaleem alongside improving the performance of our portfolio,” Mohamad Hamade, chief executive of Amanat, said.

Amanat acquired Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre for $232m in one of the region's biggest healthcare deals earlier this year.