GEMS Education, the UAE's largest private school group, has sold one of its Dubai campuses to a U.S based investment company, according to Reuters.
PineBridge Investments, a New York based money manager has acquired the unidentified school campus under a sale-leaseback agreement. The agreement entitles GEMS Education to lease the school campus for a term of over 20 years, PineBridge said in a statement.
The GEMS investment is part of the firm's Middle East strategy to acquire income-generating real estate assets, PineBridge said
The announcement underscores the attractiveness of the region's burgeoning education market to international investors. The Gulf's education market is currently estimated to be about $40 billion in size with the private education sector accounting for about 14 percent of that number, according to Saudi Arabian investment firm Itqan Capital.