ICD-backed Dubai school firm Taaleem looks to raise $204 mn via IPO

Dubai-based private school firm Taaleem Holdings is looking to raise AED 750 million, or about $204 million, in its initial public offering (IPO), which will be open for retail subscriptions on November 10.

Taaleem, which is backed by the government-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), will list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and will likely use the money to expand the network of its K-12 schools.

The company had received shareholder approval for the IPO in August.

The offering, which will be in three tranches, will be open to individuals and professionals, and eligible employees and eligible parents, the company said.

As part of the IPO, 10% of the shares on offer will be for retail investors while 88% will be for institutional investors. Institutional investors will begin subscribing to the IPO on November 17. Employees will be able to subscribe to their 2% quota from November 16. The shares will be listed on the DFM on November 29.

Founded in 2004 as Beacon Education, Taaleem is one of the biggest private-sector operators of schools in the UAE and also the region. It provides premium education from kindergarten to secondary education across 26 schools. Of these, 10 are privately owned and operated while the other 16 are government-owned but operated by Taaleem.

ICD came on board as an investor in 2007.

Taaleem’s IPO is a part of the Dubai government’s plan to list 10 state-linked companies on the DFM.

EFG Hermes UAE LLC and Emirates NBD Capital PSC are joint lead managers. The Internal Shari’ah Supervision Committee of Emirates NBD has confirmed the offering is compliant with Shariah principles.