StonePine ACE Partners –a joint venture between StonePine Capital Partners and ACE & Company SA –said that its portfolio company Taaleem Management Services SAE has listed its shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

The listing took place at a share price of 5.75 EGP ($0.36) per share, with a total of 357.8 million shares sold by existing shareholders - representing 49% of the share capital of Taaleem.

StonePine ACE Partners together with CI Capital and a group of co-investors had acquired a 60% shareholding in the platform in August 2019, in a transaction valued at EGP 1.2 billion ($73 million). This successful exit values their stake at EGP 2.5 billion, representing more than a two-fold increase in valuation showcasing the significant investment opportunities available across the Middle East region.

Youssef Haidar, Founder and CEO of StonePine Capital Partners and the head of the StonePine ACE Fund, said: “This is a great milestone for our team, and a very successful outcome for our investors. Since our investment, we have worked closely with Taaleem’s management team, who we must thank for their flawless execution during uncertain times, to reach this outcome. The success of this investment further vindicates our strategy in the Education sector, where we have been developing significant capabilities.”

Youssef Haidar will continue to sit on the board of the publicly listed company and represent the StonePine ACE Fund.

Sherif Elhalwagy, Managing Director at ACE & Company, said: “Egypt has been a key focus geography for our regional growth equity fund, and we are proud of our first exit in the country. This demonstrates the potential of local markets to create successful exit opportunities for investors, and we hope to create many other similar stories in the years to come.”

StonePine ACE Partners Limited is a joint venture between StonePine Capital Partners, an investment firm with a focus on private equity investments. ACE & Company SA, are a Geneva-based and FINMA regulated global private equity group. Both are leading private equity companies with collective AUMs greater than $1 billion.

Taaleem is a leading higher education platform that controls and operates NUB, the largest private university in Upper Egypt with more than 6,200 enrolled students and a growing capacity for over 11,000; it was born on the back of extensive Egyptian government reforms to the education sector that have encouraged private sector investment over the past several years.

The university’s location in Beni Suef enables students from this highly populous and underserved region to gain access to high quality education and state-of-the-art teaching methods.

In addition to its recently launched Faculty of Medicine in partnership with the Medical University of Vienna International, Upper Egypt’s only private medical faculty and one of only a handful nationwide, Taaleem is launching three new faculties and a new university in West Cairo, Badya University, with expected capacity for additional 9,160 students. – TradeArabia News Service