Educational Holding Group

The company was incorporated in 1982 with a paid-up capital of KWD 5 million under the name of Kuwait Establishment for Educational Services (“KEES”). It was then the only company in Kuwait and the Middle East to own and run a group of schools for different stages.

In 2004-05, KEES transformed its business from an educational services company into a holding group with a focus on investing in various companies specialized in education, training and consultancy services. The company was rechristened as Educational Holding Group (“EDU”).

In May 1993, EDU became the first publicly listed educational company on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

Since its incorporation in 1982 and till 2004 EDU had a core operating business model – mainly engaged in educational services; through the establishment and management of schools, university colleges, private institutes, and training centres involved in different educational grades, apart from offering consultancy in the educational field.

All that changed once EDU’s management decided to revisit its strategy from managing educational institutions to that of transforming to a holding company and concentrating on strategic investments related to higher education, private university and consultancy.

Watheeqa intends to capitalize on the rapidly growing educational sector in Kuwait and the region through its investment in EDU. As of August 2008, Watheeqa’s stake in EDU stood at 4.68%.

EDU’s paid-up capital stands at KWD 24.53 million distributed over 245.3 million shares with a par value of 100 fils each. EDU’s total assets stood at KWD 83.2 million and shareholder equity at KWD 47.8 million as of the second quarter that ended in February 2008.