Amanat is on the lookout for Egyptian education, healthcare firms: Dubai-listed education and healthcare investment firm Amanat could invest around AED 1 bn (EGP 4.3 bn) to acquire controlling shares in Egyptian, Saudi, and Emirati firms, the company’s CEO told Al Arabiya on Sunday. The company has around AED 700 mn (EGP 3 bn) of dry powder to deploy on new acquisitions after it recently exited several of its portfolio companies, Mohamad Hamade told the broadcaster.

But the Egyptian market won’t be taking priority: Saudi and the UAE will see the “lion’s share” of new investments, Hamade said, adding that the Saudi healthcare sector in particular is attracting significant liquidity.

It doesn’t yet have a footprint in Egypt: Amanat’s current portfolio is focused squarely on the Gulf, with all of its companies based in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

Amanat could have more cash to deploy after its exit from IMC and Taaleem: The firm’s coffers were boosted on Sunday by the sale of its 13.3% minority stake in Saudi firm International Medical Centre (IMC) for AED 433 mn, it said in a disclosure (pdf) to the Dubai bourse. The company also made gains when it divested from its 21.7% stake in UAE education provider Taaleem for AED 350 mn in April.

Investment in Egypt’s private education space has picked up in past months, with CIRA announcing it will team up with Elsewedy Capital to establish a EGP 2.5 bn university in New Damietta, and the Egypt Education Platform — a venture led by EFG Hermes, GEMS and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt — acquiring a school in Alexandria and signing an agreement to set up a school in Soma Bay. The SFE has plans to launch a sub-fund dedicated to investing in the education sector, and has joined a cohort of state-owned banks to establish the Lighthouse Education fund, which will fund the construction of new private K12 schools.