Almasar Education — formerly known as Amanat Education — is taking a 30% stake to Tadawul’s main market in a secondary offering of 30.7 mn shares, it said in its prospectus (pdf). Dubai-based investment firm Amanat Holding, the sole owner, is offloading its interest in the education arm and raking in all the proceeds from the sale. The move comes a little under a month after it secured Capital Market Authority (CMA) approval for the IPO. Reuters reported last year that the offering could raise around USD 300 mn.

REFRESHER- Amanat tapped SNB Capital in November 2024 to arrange the listing, which has been in the works since May 2024, when Amanat announced plans to carve out its education platform into a separate holding company. Its board discussed the proposal in July of that year, and Almasar was formally launched as a standalone brand in March 2025, with headquarters in Riyadh.

Post-IPO structure: Amanat Holding is selling down its stake in Almasar from 100% to 70% and netting all the proceeds, except for SAR 38 mn which will cover IPO-related expenses. The remaining shares will remain on lockup for a period of 6 months.

Institutional bookbuilding opens next week: The institutional offering will put forward 100% of shares to investors between 2-6 November, with a maximum subscription of 5.1 mn shares each and a minimum of 100k. A 30% clawback for retail investors will be up for grabs in a three-day subscription period starting Tuesday, 18 November, during which they can apply for a minimum of 10 shares and up to 250k shares each. Final allocations are slated for Wednesday, 26 November.

Earnings snapshot: Almasar’s revenue jumped 23% y-o-y to SAR 153.8 mn in 1Q 2025, while its net income went up 6% y-o-y to SAR 48.8 mn over the same period. The company said it intends to distribute annual dividends, subject to profitability and cashflows.

Almasar Education operates across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, serving more than 23k students. Its portfolio includes the Human Development Company (60% owned), the largest private provider of special education needs in Saudi Arabia, covering education, medical and rehabilitation services. It also includes Middlesex University Dubai (100% owned), the first overseas campus of Middlesex University London and NEMA Holding (35% owned), which runs Abu Dhabi University and Liwa University across five campuses in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Dubai.

The rationale: The offering comes as Almasar sees steady growth in its earnings and rising enrollment across its schools and centers, CEO Fadi Habib told Asharq Business, adding that demand for private and higher education in Saudi Arabia and the UAE remains supported by long-term national development plans.

The firm has been aggressively expanding here at home, doubling its day-care centers for students with special needs to 39, up from 21 in 2022, and increasing its schools to 14 from 10, Habib told the news outlet. Almasar earmarked SAR 115 mn in capex to lift day-care capacity to about 8k students, 50-70% of which is already invested, with 15 new schools and centers slated to open over the next two years.

Almasar is also banking on higher education as a driver for growth, looking to replicate the success of Middlesex University Dubai, where international students now account for half of enrollment, across Saudi campuses, Habib said.

Not the only Amanat IPO in the cards: Earlier in 2023, Amanat was said to have tapped EFG Hermes and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to prepare a potential listing of its healthcare arm, which could see it raise about USD 200 mn in IPO proceeds.

ADVISORS- Our friends at EFG Hermes co-managed bookbuilding alongside SNB Capital, who is quarterbacking the transaction as the financial advisor, bookrunner, and underwriter. Clifford Chance is providing counsel to the issuer, while Baker Mackenzie is advising the bookrunner. PwC is handling financial and tax due diligence, Euromonitor International is providing market research, and Deloitte is acting as the auditor.

Receiving agents include EFG Hermes, SNB Capital, Riyadh Capital, Saudi Fransi Capital, AlJazira Capital, Yaqeen Capital, AlBilad Capital, ANB Capital, Derayah Financial, AlRajhi Capital, Alistithmar Capital, Alinma Investment, Sab Invest, Alkhabeer Capital, Sahm Capital, GIB Capital, Musharaka Capital, and Awaed Al Osool Capital.

ALSO IN THE PIPELINE-

Tags: