GEMS Education has redeemed its $200 million Sukuk at the first call date of November 21, resulting in the repayment to sukuk holders, the company has announced.
In a statement, GEMS said that following the repayment it sought permission to delist GEMS sukuk from the official lists of Nasdaq Dubai and the Irish Stock Exchange.
The GEMS sukuk was formally issued by a subsidiary company, GEMS MEA Sukuk Limited in November 2013, with repayment called for five years after its issue.
“The GEMS sukuk was a landmark transaction for our business and represented our first access to the international capital markets,” said GEMS Education CEO Dino Varkey.
When the sukuk was raised in 2013, GEMS operated 37 schools with a total student body of 79,000. The company now owns and operates 49 schools and educated more than 124,000 students.
“The $200 million of capital subscribed by our sukuk investors contributed significantly to this growth,” Varkey added. “We are proud to repay our inaugural Sukuk as we were to join the market back in 2013.”
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