Amwal AlKhaleej exits Saudi investment in Al Rowad Private Education Group

The Company's revenues and net profits have since grown by approximately 65%, primarily through campus expansions, acquisitions, and operational improvements.

Al Rowad today houses over 13,000 students on 7 campuses across Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company also has two new campuses under construction that are expected to boost its student capacity by 6,500 students in the coming two years.
The exit has generated a money multiple of 1.8x for Amwal II partners in what is so far the highest return on a private equity investment in the education sector reported to date in the MENA region.

Ammar AlKhudairy, Managing Partner of Amwal AlKhaleej said: "We would like to thank our partners and the management team for their continuous support throughout this successful journey. Our exit comes after we have equipped the company with the necessary tools and initiatives for its transition into the next phase of growth. We are confident that the new partner brings with him tremendous value that will secure Al Rowad's position as a regional leader."

Amwal AlKhaleej played a highly active role throughout its holding period to bring Al Rowad to the leading market position it enjoys today.

Assaad Karam, Vice President at Amwal AlKhaleej also commented: "We have been deeply involved with the management team on many fronts through our participation on board committees. For example, we helped the Company optimize its capital structure by raising around SAR 200 million in bank financing to fund its expansion plan, which centered around acquisitions and construction of new campuses. We have also introduced several key performance indicators that were monitored on a monthly basis to help Al Rowad improve the use of its resources, resulting in higher operating margins."

Mr. Othman Al Kassabi, Chairman of the Executive Committee and shareholder of Rowad shared: "Amwal's contribution to Al Rowad has been key to the growth of our company. They provided support across all corporate finance and strategic matters including acquisitions, enhancing the corporate structure and improving our corporate governance in line with best practice."

Fadi Arbid, CEO of Amwal AlKhaleej concluded: "Al Rowad's exit value and timing vindicates our investment discipline and demonstrates our ability to generate superior returns even for investments done shortly before the global crisis. With this exit, we have returned 50% of Amwal II invested capital with only 3 exited transactions out of the 11entered for the partnership."