Ayala, Yuchengco groups merge school subsidiaries

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala and Yuchengco Groups have approved the merger of their respective educational institutions AC Education and iPeople Inc. in a  bid to capture the growing student market in the country through affordable but quality education.

iPeople Inc., the education subsidiary of Yuchengco-owned House of Investments Inc. will be the surviving entity.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Ayala Corp. said the proposed merger is subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

“The merger, first announced in January 2018, is seen bringing together a population of over 40,000 students.

The marriage of the two giants include iPeople and its significant subsidiary, Malayan Education System Inc., operating under Mapua University, a leading private engineering and technical university in the country, and its subsidiaries, Malayan Colleges Laguna and Malayan Colleges Mindanao.

From the Ayala Group, the merger will cover Ayala Education and its subsidiaries, the University of Nueva Caceres in Bicol and APEC Schools, the largest stand-alone chain of private high schools in the country.

Officials from both the Yuchengco and Ayala Groups believe that Mapua’s reputation as a leading private engineering and technical university in the country, together with AC Education’s ability to provide quality education will enable the two conglomerates to jointly contribute to the improvement of the quality of education in the country.

Ayala Corp. is the oldest conglomerate in the country with businesses in banking, telecoms, property and water. In recent years, it expanded into health, energy and education.

The Yuchengco Group, meanwhile, has businesses in banking, automotive, insurance and education, among others. It is led by Helen Yuchengco Dee, daughter of the late Alfonso Yuchengco, the  group’s founding chairman.