Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, sold its stake in the Nobel Learning Communities, a private education provider in the US, for an undisclosed amount.
Mumtalakat, which has a portfolio of $15.4 billion of assets, said on Tuesday it remained bullish on investments in the US market and will continue to hunt fore more deals in the education sector.
“Our investment in Nobel reflects our optimistic outlook on the US market,” Mahmood Alkooheji, chief executive of Mumtalakat, said in a statement, without giving financial details of the exit. “While we focus on investing in sectors that address economic needs …. we are committed to continued investments in the education sector and have built a strong team of industry experts to support the growth of our portfolio companies.”
The company, he added, will continue to seek investments in different education sub-sectors, including private pre-nursery K-12 education, vocational training, and educational support software.
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Mumtalakat acquired Nobel in 2015 in partnership with Bahrain-based alternative investments manager, Investcorp. The company’s network of schools since then has expanded with approximately 34 new facilities added through acquisitions and greenfield development to 190 private schools across the US, according to the statement.
Investments in the education sector, one of the higher growth segments in developed and developing economies, have been on the rise in recent years in the Middle East and beyond, as demand for schooling grows with the uptick in population numbers. Mumtalakat also owns a stake in GEMS Education, one of the leading private schools operators in the region, along with its founder Sunny Varkey, Dubai-based private equity firm Fajr Capital and Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Malaysian government-owned fund.
Established in 2006 with a mandate to grow Bahrain’s strategic non-oil and gas assets, Mumtalakat has diversified its portfolio of assets locally and globally. Aluminum Bahrain and National Bank of Bahrain are among Mumtalakat’s assets in the Arabian Gulf state, while car maker McLaren Group is one of its international investments.
The sovereign wealth fund’s assets have grown and almost doubled from 29 to over 60 local and international companies across 11 sectors. Of those, 65 per cent are based in Bahrain and the broader region, while 29 are in Europe and 6 per cent in the US, the company said.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
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THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
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An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
