JEDDAH: The Saudi Research and Marketing Group has taken over the Sharjah-based University Bookshop (Maktaba Al-Jamia) Group by increasing its share in the company from 51 to 100 percent. The deal was valued at SR40 million, SRMG said yesterday, adding that it would finance the purchase on its own.
Prince Faisal bin Salman, chairman of SRMG, said the takeover was aimed at further improving specialized educational content and academic curricula, in tune with the Kingdom’s educational march. “We also want to make use of opportunities to develop education in light of the growing number of students and universities in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries,” he added.
Prince Faisal said University Bookshop’s joining with the Saudi group would strengthen its cooperation with other SRMG companies and support new projects of the Saudi Printing and Packaging Company. “This will certainly increase the group’s profits at all levels.”
SRMG’s high financial capability and fall in loans have strengthened its ability to take over vital projects that would serve its strategic growth in content industry, the prince said.
He said the company would finance the purchases itself.
The University Bookshop Group (UB) is considered one of the specialized companies in publication, university and school textbooks, translation and English language books. The group includes University Bookshop and its subsidiaries, such as the Scientific Books Company that is based in Saudi Arabia, and the Bookstore Company for Distribution and Publishing (Ithra) based in Jordan.
“This is a vital step toward achieving SRMG’s expansion and diversification plans,” the chairman said. “At the same time, it will strengthen the base of specialized content in which the group is a leader at national and regional levels,” he pointed out. This investment would increase the group’s profitability and will reflect positively on its shareholders.
Khaled Shuraim, CEO of University Bookshop, said the group has been active in publishing and developing university and school educational content, and specialized translation, with the support of qualified hands. “We are also specialized in developing educational curricula in Arabic and English,” he said. UB is a major distributor for well-known publishers such as Pearson Education, McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press and Macmillan.
UB has achieved a remarkable position in specialized publishing companies as a result of its experience and strong relations in the education sector. The group has branches on the campuses of most UAE universities.
Jordan-based Ithra specializes in scientific publications, translation, and development of curricula and educational content. It is one of Jordan’s leading companies in the field, supplying more than 150 scientific titles taught in Arab universities.
Last year its sales crossed SR70 million and the company made a net profit of SR14.7 million, registering a 27.8 percent increase compared to 2007 when profit was SR11.5 million.