CLARIFICATION- EFG, GEMS acquire four schools in EGP 1 bn transaction from TMG: EFG Hermes and GEMS Education’s joint K-12 education platform in Egypt acquired four schools in Madinaty and Al Rehab from the Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) for EGP 1 bn. The schools, two of which run the British system and two of which follow the national curriculum, are already up and running, with around 5,000 students already enrolled, and will be managed and operated entirely by GEMS. We had incorrectly implied in our coverage yesterday that the schools were still under development. The story has been updated on our website.

TMG tells us that the company has already received the proceeds from the transaction, adding that it “falls in line with the company’s strategy to optimise management of non-core and non-residential assets … this will be achieved by bringing seasoned operators like GEMS Education onboard and entrust them with operatorships and management of assets, which fall beyond the scope of TMG Holding’s core competencies.” TMG has also issued a release on the acquisition (pdf).

The transaction is EFG’s first investment in the Egyptian educational sector. “We will capitalize 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,” EFG Hermes Asset Management and Private Equity boss Kareem Moussa said in a joint release yesterday (pdf). EFG and GEMS had announced last week that they were forming a 50/50 JV to invest in education in Egypt. The JV could invest as much as USD 300 mn in Egyptian education opportunities over the next five years, Moussa told the National, a UAE daily, last week.

In other company news, Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) is planning to break ground on its new USD 350 mn Four Seasons hotel in Madinaty in the coming days, CEO Hisham Talaat Moustafa told the press on Monday, according to Al Mal. Moustafa also said TMG would complete the expansion of its USD 380 mn Four Seasons hotel in Sharm El Sheikh in 2H2019.