UAE’s GEMS acquires Kenya’s Hillcrest International School for $26 mln

Dubai-based education company GEMS Education, a unit of education to healthcare company Varkey Group, has acquired Kenya's Hillcrest International School, a British curriculum based school, for 2.6 billion Kenyan shillings ($26 million).

Hillcrest, purchased from Kenya-based Fanisi Capital, is expected to solidify GEMS Education’s footing in the Kenyan high-end education sector.

All the agreements of the deal have been established as the acquisition awaits approval from the regulators to be closed.

In October 2018, GEMS Education and Saudi Arabia-based Hassana Investment Co. inked a partnership to commit up to $800 million over the next decade to purchase and develop schools in the Kingdom.