SEC clears merger of Ayala, Yuchengco school subsidiaries

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the merger of the education units of the Ayala and  Yuchengco groups.

In separate disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Ayala Corp. and House of Investments said the merger would take effect May 2.

“The SEC approved on April 24 the plan and articles of merger executed by and between AC Education and iPeople Inc., with IPO as the surviving corporation,” the two companies said.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), the government’s anti-trust body, already gave the greenlight to the merger last year.

The merger will bring together the seven educational institutions of iPeople and AC Education, which together will offer quality education to students across all income segments, with campuses in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Bicol and Mindanao.

The merger will include iPeople and its significant subsidiary, Malayan Education System Inc., which operates under the name of Mapua University, one of the country’s leading engineering and technical universities.

It will also include iPeople’s Malayan Colleges Laguna, the best board exam performing private higher education institution in Calabarzon, Malayan Colleges Mindanao in Davao, and Malayan Science High School in Manila.

Likewise covered by the merger are AC Education and its subsidiaries, the University of Nueva Caceres, one of the oldest and largest universities in Bicol, National Teachers College, the country’s pioneer private teachers’ training tertiary education institution, and APEC Schools, the largest chain of private stand-alone high schools in the country.

The PCC approved the transaction as it would not result in substantial lessening of competition.

The merger is touted as a marriage of two giants aimed at capturing the growing student market in the country through affordable but quality education.