DUBAI- Dubai-based school operator GEMS Education said on Monday its joint venture in Saudi Arabia had completed the acquisition of Ma'arif, the largest education company in the kingdom.

Blackstone-backed GEMS did not give a value for the purchase by its joint venture, which is co-owned by Saudi Arabia's General Organisation for Social Insurance.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh Editing by Edmund Blair) ((Hadeel.AlSayegh@thomsonreuters.com; +971566883310;))