Dubai-based investment company Amanat has sold its minority stake in private schools operator Taaleem to a Dubai government entity for $95 million (AED 349.4 million).

Amanat sold the 21.7 percent stake through Talent Investments LLC, to Knowledge Fund Establishment, a Government of Dubai entity. 

The company said the sale to Knowledge Fund Establishment is in line with its strategic objectives, evaluating its current investment portfolio in terms of appropriateness to its current investment model.

“This exit gives Amanat further balance sheet bandwidth to explore and seize investment opportunities that will drive topline growth and improve Amanat’s return profile,” the company said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The transaction is expected to generate a net gain on sale of approximately AED 160 million in the second financial quarter of 2021, the DFM statement said.

Chairman Hamad Alshamsi said in a press statement that the transaction was Amanat’s first exit for five years.

“The transaction is a clear representation of the value our team aims to deliver to our shareholders, despite the turbulent macro-economic environment brought on by COVID-19 and the vacuum of M&A activity in the region,” he said.

The company’s financial reports posted to DFM reveal a loss of AED 437,000 in 2020 compared to a profit of AED 52 million in 2019.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com)

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© ZAWYA 2021