Parental Demand for Quality Education Fuels M&A Opportunities in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s K-12 education market is at a turning point, offering significant potential for investors. The rising influx of expatriates and growing parental demand for quality private schools have propelled a sharp increase in household spending on education, a trend that continues to accelerate.
In the latest video from our quick-fire IMAP Industry M&A Insights series, Claire Smedley from IMAP HQ speaks with Hisham Ashour, Managing Partner at Haykala – IMAP Saudi Arabia, about the sector's dynamic opportunities. Hisham highlights how Riyadh’s impressive count of over 3,000 schools reflects the scope of M&A potential, particularly through buy-and-build strategies. These strategies aim to consolidate smaller schools into larger, scalable platforms, enhancing operational efficiencies, consistent branding, and economies of scale.
With listed education companies trading at high premiums, Saudi Arabia’s education market is set for transformative growth, creating a robust ecosystem for both sellers and investors.
Watch the video below to discover how you can capitalize on this thriving market
Jurgis V. Oniunas
IMAP Chairman
At the start of the year, the outlook for Q1 was highly optimistic, with expectations of slowing inflation, lower interest rates, and improving growth projections. Unfortunately, we live in interesting times. Early in the year, speculation around the disruptive impact of AI on traditional SaaS business models triggered a significant revaluation in parts of the Software sector. More recently, escalation in the Middle East conflict has introduced fresh volatility – pushing oil prices higher, adding upward pressure on inflation, and creating supply-chain uncertainties. While it is too early to tell how these new shocks will eventually affect the global M&A market, we can be sure that our dealmakers around the world are on the ground every day – negotiating, re-evaluating, adjusting positions, and adapting to whatever the environment throws at them to deliver the best outcomes for their clients. They’ve done it for over 50 years, and that’s exactly what they’ll continue to do, no matter the conditions.
