Dubai Billionaire Teams With Adani To Expand His GEMS Schools In India

Sunny Varkey, the Indian-born chairman of Dubai-based GEMS Education, one of the largest kindergarten-to-grade-12 private school networks in the world, has long-nurtured an ambition to make the GEMS brand known in his native country. Now he's found a well-connected partner to help him achieve his goal. Varkey is teaming up with Gautam Adani, India's second-richest person, to offer world-class, affordable education across the country with the target of opening 20 schools over three years.
GEMS will operate the schools via a 50-50 joint venture with Adani, who controls Ahmedabad-based ports-to-power conglomerate Adani group. The joint venture will be responsible for everything from management to teacher recruitment and training. While exact details of the tie-up are not available, the Adani Foundation has pledged to provide 20 billion rupees ($234 million) to be used to offer 30% of seats in some schools to less-privileged students for free. The first Adani GEMS School of Excellence has already opened in Lucknow.
Sunny Varkey and Gautam Adani
Courtesy of ADANI
Varkey's push into India—where he currently has just two schools, in Kochi and Gurgaon—comes as GEMS is riding high in its home market of Dubai, which is experiencing a post-Covid-19 influx of expatriates that has created rampant demand for everything from property to school seats. The 68-year-old entrepreneur, who built his education empire over more than four decades from just one school with 350 students, sees this as a golden chance to revive his ambitions to scale up the GEMS network of 92 schools in eight countries. 'We definitely have the capability, the ambition and the brand to exploit the opportunity,' he says in a rare interview at his spacious villa in the city's upscale Jumeirah district.
Varkey has earmarked $300 million for expansion over the next three years across the UAE, where the private education market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% to $10.3 billion by 2030, according to Hyderabad-based market research company Mordor Intelligence. He plans to spend the bulk of the investment in Dubai, where expats—who make up 92% of the population, according to marketing firm Global Media Insights—do not have access to the public school system. Varkey has earmarked $300 million for expansion over the next three years across the UAE, where the private education market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% to $10.3 billion by 2030, according to Hyderabad-based market research company Mordor Intelligence. He plans to spend the bulk of the investment in Dubai, where expats—who make up 92% of the population, according to marketing firm Global Media Insights—do not have access to the public school system.
'We definitely have the capability and the brand to exploit the opportunity.'
A third of the capital outlay will go toward the new ultra-premium GEMS School of Research and Innova­tion set to open in August in Dubai Sports City, a residential and sports complex located in the south of the emirate. With a campus spread across four hectares, it promises cut­ting-edge AI technologies and a host of amenities, from a robotics lab and a 600-seat auditorium to an Olympic-size swimming pool and even a helipad. Annual fees will be as much as $56,000 for the higher grades, which will be introduced in a few years.
GEMS School of Research and Innovation in Dubai Sports City.
Courtesy of GEMS Education
Presently, there are nearly 400,000 students of 185 nationalities enrolled in Dubai's private schools, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the private school regulator. But that number is set to increase exponentially as expats continue to be drawn by Dubai's low-tax environment and stable economy. The government estimates the city's population will more than double to 7.8 million in 2040 from 3.3 million in 2024, That, in turn, is likely to fuel demand for so-called premium schools that promise high-quality education at nosebleed prices.
Last year, the emirate unveiled a strategy to upgrade Dubai's education system to world-class by 2033. The KHDA says it will approve at least 90 more private schools by then, compared with 227 as of January 2025, adding close to 50,000 school seats. Five private schools were launched in the 2023-24 academic year and ten more opened in 2024-2025, according to the KHDA. It says a further 20 applications are under review.
GEMS claims a 26% share of Dubai's private education market, based on enrolments, with more than 100,000 students across 28 mostly K-12 institutions, three of which opened in the past five years. Its schools follow the British, American, IB and Indian curriculums and annual fees start from $2,000. GEMS's Ebitda rose 12% to $380 million in 2024 from a year earlier, while revenue climbed 17% to $1.4 billion, according to estimates compiled by debt-rating agency Fitch Ratings. (Net profit wasn't available for this period.)
'We are still very UAE-centric,' acknowledges Dino Varkey, 44, the older of Varkey's two sons and GEMS group CEO (younger son Jay, 40, is deputy CEO), 'because our brand and brand equity are much more well-known in this part of the world.'
Dino Varkey, CEO of GEMS group
Courtesy of GEMS Education
Well-known enough to pull in a $2 billion investment in June last year from a consortium led by New York-based Brookfield Asset Management that includes Dubai financial services firm Gulf Islamic Investments, global private equity outfit Marathon Asset Management and the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 'The schools that GEMS runs in the UAE are amongst the most respected,' says Jad Ellawn, Brookfield managing partner and regional head in the Middle East. 'We feel very, very good about our investment.'
The structured deal gives the consortium preferred shares in GEMS, the value of which will be decided after an undisclosed period and based on the company achieving certain milestones, according to Varkey. While neither the educator nor Ellawn would reveal details, Dino says the consortium 'will have the same governance rights that you would expect for a significant minority stakeholder.'
The Brookfield-led group is the fourth investor consortium Varkey has tapped since 2000. 'Our biggest challenge has always been finance,' he says. 'You can only borrow up to a certain point.' While Varkey has explored the possibility of an IPO for GEMS in the past, so far it has not been necessary, he insists.
The month after the investors signed on, GEMS secured a $3.3 billion loan from a clutch of banks led by Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreq, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank, further strengthening the balance sheet and helping pay off nearly $1.9 billion in debt. The financing accords also paved the way for the exit of a previous investor consortium, led by Luxembourg-based PE firm CVC Capital Partners, which backed GEMS in 2019.
Varkey, whose estimated fortune is $4 billion based on his stake in GEMS and after accounting for personal debt, says GEMS benefits from its dominant position and deep understanding of the UAE market. 'We are not coming from somewhere else, we know the market,' he maintains.
That may be, but competition is escalating. Britain's venerable Harrow International Schools tied up with Dubai-listed education provider Taaleem Holdings earlier this year to open two schools, one each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Likewise, London-based Nord Anglia Education, which has more than 80 schools across 33 countries, launched a school in Abu Dhabi in August 2023.
'We are not coming from somewhere else, we know the market.'
Sami Yosef, head of global research at London-based ISC Research, a provider of data on international schools (GEMS is a client), says there is room for more players. 'The UAE needs more schools, and there are waiting lists in so many schools.'
Still, the family is not complacent. 'We have to leverage our legacy and our position as the market leader to insulate ourselves against increasing competition,' says Dino.
Sunny Varkey grew up in the education business. His parents migrated to Dubai from the southern Indian state of Kerala in the late fifties and taught English before opening their own school in 1968. Varkey, who attended boarding school in Kerala from age 4, joined them when he was 11, but headed to the U.K. for one year of schooling before returning to Dubai to complete his final year of studies. He skipped college and entered Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai as a general clerk at age 19.
A couple of years later he launched a school building and maintenance company called Chicago Maintenance & Construction that remains part of his holding outfit, Varkey Group. In 1980, Varkey took over his parents' school and started expanding, opening 15 schools in the UAE over the following two decades. Thereafter, he began looking further afield with the ambition of making a global imprint.
The U.K. was the first market outside the UAE that Varkey bought into, acquiring more than a dozen schools there in 2003, including ten from rival Nord Anglia. The country, where he operates mostly under the Bellevue brand, remains his biggest market beyond the Middle East.
Elsewhere, however, his forays have produced mixed results, including in his native India. Over five years starting in 2011, Varkey bought a nearly 35% stake in Chennai-based edtech company Everonn Education, but the firm went into liquidation in 2016, something he declines to comment on.
There were also greenfield forays into Singapore, Malaysia and Kenya over the past two decades that he exited after a few years. 'I should have done more acquisitions rather than doing greenfield ventures,' he says in hindsight. 'You take a few years to get the land, a few years to construct, and then a few years to break even. It was the wrong thing to do.'
A GEMS school in Switzerland closed in 2019 and its leaseholder sued a Cayman Islands-based arm of GEMS for unpaid rent. The Luxembourg-based financial holding company, Meigerhorn, was awarded 63 million Swiss francs ($77 million) plus interest and other costs in 2022, and the Caymans entity was subsequently put into liquidation. GEMS declined to comment on the case.
The Covid-19 pandemic tested Varkey's resilience as schools were shut down, enrolments stalled and GEMS offered fee concessions to parents who had lost their jobs. While virtual classes continued during Covid, the company lost out on other lucrative income streams during that period, such as transportation and catering services, both of which recovered once schools reopened in August 2020.
'Sunny is a fighter and has deep knowledge of every aspect of the education business,' says V. Shankar, cofounder and CEO of Dubai-based PE firm Gateway Partners, who was previously on the board of the Varkey family's philanthropic arm, the Varkey Foundation. 'He's hard working, hard-charging and a consummate entrepreneur.'
Varkey has to contend with lingering challenges in the UAE, including higher construction and operating costs and a shortage of skilled workers, according to a 2023 industry report by Dubai-based investment banking advisory firm Alpen Capital. Varkey maintains that GEMS, which has 24,000 employees, is a sought-after employer, saying the company 'gets around 600,000 applications a year for about 2,200 vacancies [in teaching, administration and management].' In May, the KHDA announced a ten-year golden visa for private education professionals to help address the shortage.
Another potential snag: The individual emirates regulate private school fees, which could crimp profitability. But ISC Research's Yosef says regulation 'is also part of what has made the UAE's private education sector both attractive and resilient, creating stability for families and predictability for investors.'
As part of his expansion plans, Varkey, learning from past missteps, says he will also adopt an asset-light strategy. A key component of this is a consulting business in which GEMS partners with governments, wealthy individuals or other schools by contributing its expertise rather than capital. 'The consulting business will be a game-changer,' says Varkey confidently. GEMS has invested $50 million in developing what it calls a School Support Centre in Dubai that provides guidance on everything from running programs for gifted children and training teachers to performance audits and crisis management.
Despite a self-confessed aversion to studying in his youth, Varkey's enthusiasm for the business of schooling remains undimmed. 'We have to make sure we continue to lead the sector,' he says. 'We have to be a company that everyone wants to be a part of.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

New York Post

an hour ago

• New York Post

News Corp extends CEO Robert Thomson's contract through 2030

News Corp will extend the contract of chief executive Robert Thomson through 2030, the media giant said Sunday. Thomson was appointed CEO of News Corp — whose properties include The Post, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal and book publisher HarperCollins — in 2013. His contract was extended in 2023 until 2027. He has delivered News Corp's four most profitable years from fiscal 2021 to 2024, with continued strong performance in fiscal 2025 despite a challenging media landscape, the company said. 3 News Corp CEO Robert Thomson had his contract extended through 2030. Bloomberg via Getty Images 'Robert has been instrumental in News Corp's growth and transformation, and his vision and leadership are extremely important as the company continues to navigate this era of rapid change,' News Corp Chair Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement. Thomson has been at the helm of the New York-based company through several major deals, such as the sale of its Australian cable-TV unit Foxtel to British-owned sports network DAZN for $2.19 billion in 2024. 3 New York-based News Corp is the parent company of The Post. Robert Miller 3 News Corp's properties include The Post, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal and book publisher HarperCollins. Bloomberg via Getty Images News Corp also signed landmark agreements with major technology platforms, including most recently with OpenAI, to license the company's intellectual property in exchange for meaningful compensation. 'Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch have adroitly sculpted a company that is passionate and principled and purposeful, and it is a profound privilege to serve as Chief Executive,' Thomson said in a statement. 'For journalists, for authors, for society, for those who strive and aspire, these are times of immense challenge and boundless opportunity. Our leadership team is acutely conscious of an unwavering responsibility to our shareholders, and we are grateful for the sterling efforts of all our colleagues as we pursue profitability and seek to realize our vast potential.'

Business Insider

3 hours ago

• Business Insider

Upcoming Stock Splits This Week (June 23 to June 27)

These are the upcoming stock splits for the week of June 23 to June 27, based on TipRanks' Stock Splits Calendar. A stock split takes place when a company increases its number of outstanding shares by issuing more to existing shareholders, effectively reducing the price per share without altering the firm's overall market capitalization. While the underlying value remains the same, the lower share price makes the stock more accessible to everyday investors and may help boost market interest. Confident Investing Starts Here: Meanwhile, a reverse stock split does the opposite, shrinking the share count by consolidating existing shares into fewer units. This pushes the stock price higher while keeping the total valuation the same. It's a common move for companies trying to meet exchange listing requirements, especially if their share price is flirting with minimum thresholds like those set by the Nasdaq. Whether it's about attracting more investors or holding onto a listing, these corporate actions can offer valuable clues about a company's strategy and where it sees itself heading next. Let's take a look at the upcoming stock splits for the week. Pegasystems (PEGA) – Pegasystems is a leading provider of enterprise AI-powered decisioning and workflow automation software. On June 17, the company announced a 2-for-1 forward stock split, aimed at improving share accessibility for retail investors. PEGA stock is expected to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 23. TruGolf Holdings (TRUG) – Specializing in high-end golf simulator technology, TruGolf aims to bring the driving range indoors. On June 18, the company announced a 1-for-50 reverse stock split to help maintain compliance with Nasdaq's listing requirements. The split is set to take effect on June 23. Maase (MAAS) – China-based Maase, a digital platform company, is switching from trading American Depositary Shares (ADSs) to listing its regular shares directly on the Nasdaq. To prepare for this transition, the company announced a 1-for-90 reverse stock split on June 18, meaning every 90 ADSs will be converted into one regular share. The split takes effect when the market opens on June 23, 2025. Super League Enterprise (SLE) – Super League builds immersive experiences across gaming and metaverse platforms. On June 18, the company announced a 1-for-40 reverse stock split, designed to boost the share price and extend its Nasdaq listing runway. The stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 23. KULR Technology Group (KULR) – Focused on thermal management and battery safety for aerospace and EV markets, KULR announced a 1-for-8 reverse stock split on June 13 to regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price rule. The stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 23. Stem, Inc. (STEM) – Leveraging AI to boost grid-scale energy efficiency, Stem announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split on June 11 to comply with the NYSE's minimum bid price requirement. The stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 23. Cellectar Biosciences (CLRB) – Cellectar is a clinical-stage biotech developing phospholipid drug conjugates for targeted cancer treatment. On June 18, the company announced a 1-for-30 reverse stock split, following shareholder approval the prior week. The move is aimed at regaining compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement. The split is slated to go into effect on June 24. Jiade Limited (JDZG) – China-based Jiade Limited, which focuses on adult education and logistics services, announced on June 20 that it would implement a 1-for-8 reverse stock split, effective June 24, consolidating its shares and updating its CUSIP to regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement.

American Military News

4 hours ago

• American Military News

Widespread pay cuts in China drive down consumer spending, fuel deflationary fears

This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Chinese workers across industries are facing salary cuts and layoffs as mounting economic woes engulf China's public and private sectors, sources tell Radio Free Asia. That's forcing families to slash spending. It is also triggering deflationary concerns as businesses enter into desperate price wars. From Beijing's central government offices to provincial agencies across China, as well as major state-owned enterprises like investment bank China International Capital Corp (CICC), employees have faced substantial pay reductions that have reduced household budgets and fundamentally altered consumer spending patterns. 'I used to earn 6,000 yuan (or US$835) a month but now I only get 5,000 yuan (US$696), and some allowances have been removed too,' Li, an employee at a Beijing-based state-owned enterprise, told RFA. Like many others interviewed for this story, Li wanted to be identified by a single name for safety reasons. 'Some people in my wife's company have also had their salaries cut and some have received layoff notices, saying they will only work until July-end,' said Li. In Zhejiang, regarded one of China's most prosperous provinces, ordinary civil servants have had their annual salaries slashed by 50,000 to 60,000 yuan (or US$6,964-US$8,356) this year, Zheng, a resident of the province's Zhuji city, told RFA. Civil servants in more senior positions have seen deeper reductions to their annual pay of around 80,000 to 100,000 yuan (or US$11100-US$13900) and others in still higher levels by about 150,000 yuan (or US$20,890), Zheng said. 'There was already a reduction two years ago. This year's salary is reduced again,' he added. The cuts indicate the financial strain on local governments, as domestic economic challenges lead to tepid consumer demand and price pressures. That's impacting businesses' ability to pay taxes. Additionally, local governments are grappling with a decline in land transfer sales revenue amid weak property market demand. For 2025, China's provincial regions have set cautious fiscal revenue estimates, with an average growth target of 2.8% for their general public budget revenue, which is the sum of tax and non-tax revenue. That's down 1.6 percentage points from 2024's target average, as revenue generation challenges continue to weigh on local governments, economists say. For example, in Shandong, many real estate projects have been suspended for the past two years with no land sales recorded, impacting the local government's already large fiscal debt levels, said one blogger based in the northeastern coastal province, according to texts and pictures posted on X account @whyyoutouzhele, also known as 'Mr. Li is not your teacher,' who posts content on that platform to circumvent Chinese government censorship. Another Shandong resident, named Geng, told RFA, that county and township level officials in the province have had their salaries slashed by 30%, with payments frequently delayed. 'Now the county-level finances have been depleted, and the benefits for police officers have also been reduced,' Geng, a resident of Qingdao city, said. Police officers in many other regions have also seen significant cuts to their annual salaries, down to 200,000 yuan (US$27,856) this year from 300,000 yuan (US$41,784) a year ago, said a legal professional based in southeast China's Guangdong province. Employees of major Chinese state-owned commercial enterprises, such as investment bank CICC and China Development Bank, have not been spared either, with companies executing cost-cutting 'optimization measures,' including wage reductions and layoffs, amid a government campaign to cap pay ceilings at financial institutions and bring it more on par with other civil servants But an employee at CICC said the salary cuts have affected virtually all staff levels. 'Almost everyone in our building has had their salaries cut. The lowest-level employees have also had their salaries cut by 5%. I heard that the reductions for mid- and high-paid employees are even greater,' he said. According to a report from Beijing-based Caixin media group, 27 government-owned financial enterprises have begun to implement salary cuts, mainly aimed at reaching the goal of capping annual income of staff at these firms at 1 million yuan (US$139,180), as Beijing moves forward with a campaign, known as 'common prosperity' drive, to narrow income and wealth inequality. Ma, who works at a Beijing-based state-owned enterprise, said his company has already conducted two rounds of salary cuts and layoffs since 2023. 'The basic salary has shrunk, and the company has also cancelled meal and transportation subsidies,' Ma said. 'The work that used to be done by two or three people now has to be done by one person.' Another employee of a state-owned bank based in Guangdong's Dongguan city said his salary had been reduced by 30% in the past two years, with performance bonuses 'almost completely cut.' The salary reductions have sparked a sharp decline in consumer spending, creating deflationary pressures across the economy, as businesses engage in aggressive price cutting in a desperate bid to attract cash-strapped consumers. 'The price war has become the latest struggle for many small businesses,' Meng, a Shandong resident, told RFA. 'For example, the good ribs here only sell for 12 yuan (or US$1.67) a pound, and the purchase price of live pigs is only a few yuan … restaurants are desperately offering discounts to survive. This is not competition, but dragging each other down.' In Beijing, small supermarkets are 'slashing prices like crazy,' said Su, a resident of the city's Haidian District. 'I'm afraid they will all go bankrupt in a few months at this rate.' In her own home too, Su has observed major changes in spending patterns, with fewer family gatherings and less frequent restaurant meals, as household budgets tighten. Economist Wu Qinxue warned that the current situation highlights continued decline in local governments' fiscal levels and is not just a temporary belt-tightening. 'The (local) government has no money to manage people, and no one is willing to spend money,' he said. 'From salary cuts within the system to the collapse of consumption among ordinary people, the entire society is quietly forming a top-down (consumer belt-) 'tightening chain.''