DUBAI - GEMS Education, an international private education provider headquartered in Dubai, has hired four banks to underwrite a $1.2 billion loan that will be used to refinance some of its existing debt, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The firm, supported by Dubai-based Fajr Capital, Bahraini state investment fund Mumtalakat and private equity giant Blackstone, is raising the loan to streamline its corporate structure ahead of a planned initial public offer of shares in London, sources told Reuters earlier this month.

HSBC, Emirates NBD, Mashreq Bank and Noor Bank are the underwriters of the seven-year loan, said the sources. The facility could be syndicated to a wider group of lenders at a later stage.

A spokesman for GEMS Education declined to comment.

The company operates more than 250 schools across 14 countries. Among its borrowings, it raised a $250 million, three-year loan in 2016 and borrowed 3 billion dirhams ($817 million) in 2015.

(Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((Davide.Barbuscia@thomsonreuters.com; +971522604297; Reuters Messaging: davide.barbuscia.reuters.com@reuters.net))