Clyde & Co advises Al Najah Education on sale of Horizon International School to Cognita

Global law firm Clyde & Co has advised Al Najah Education, a leading private equity firm operating in the education sector across the Middle East and South East Asia, on the competitive auction sale of Horizon International School to UK-based school operator, Cognita.

Clyde & Co acted as sole legal counsel to Al Najah Education on all aspects of the auction process and sale. The transaction follows the sale of Dubai based, Horizon English School, by Al Najah Education to Cognita last year.

This sale represents the latest phase in Al Najah’s divestment strategy and the second transaction on which Clyde & Co has advised Al Najah in the past year.

Al Najah Education is an investment and management group company with a ten-year history of establishing and managing international schools and nurseries across the Middle East and South East Asia. Cognita is a UK-based global education group that operates 85 schools across 12 countries worldwide. 

Clyde & Co corporate partner in Dubai, Naji Hawayek, comments: "We are delighted to continue to work closely with Al Najah Education and to have assisted them through this competitive auction process. The transaction highlights the increasing demand for premium quality, high performing schools in the UAE and the strength and resilience of the private education market in this region”.

CEO of Al Najah Raza Khan, says: “I am delighted to have worked with Clyde and Co on another landmark deal. Al Najah, together with the leadership at the school, transformed Horizon International into one of the highest performing, most beloved and respected schools in Dubai, and is delighted now to pass the baton to one of the world’s leading school operators”.

The Clyde & Co team was led by Partner Naji Hawayek and corporate Senior Associate Nisha Johar, with support from real estate Partner Peter Greatrex and corporate Associate Ghalya Rashid Ali.

Clyde & Co has a top tier Corporate/M&A team in the UAE and is one of the few law firms in the Middle East with a dedicated education team capable of creating and executing education deals. The firm's global education practice spans its network of more than 50 offices worldwide and provides commercial and pragmatic advice to education sector clients on all aspects of their business, including in relation to investments, structuring, M&A, regulatory and strategic matters.

Clyde & Co has the largest presence and is one of most experienced international law firms in the Middle East with over 40 partners and 300 staff, based full time in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The firm supports international investors and local organisations throughout the wider region with a full-service offering of local specialists across most business sectors and areas of law, including commercial, corporate, dispute resolution, employment, intellectual property, international arbitration, finance & banking, insurance, projects & construction, real estate, regulatory & investigations, and technology.