Yuchengco, Ayala groups plan to merge education businesses

The Yuchengco and Ayala groups plan to merge their education businesses, which they aim to finalize within the first quarter of the year. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA — The Yuchengco and Ayala groups plan to merge their education businesses, which they aim to finalize within the first quarter of the year.

Ayala Corp. and House of Investments Inc. told the local bourse that AC Education Inc. and iPeople, inc. have executed a non-binding term sheet for their potential merger.

“Under the non-binding term sheet, the parties agreed to an exclusivity period to complete due diligence, and to finalize the terms and conditions of the proposed merger within the first quarter of 2018,” they said.

The potential merger would include iPeople and its significant subsidiary, Malayan Education System, Inc. operating under the name of Mapua University and its subsidiaries, Malayan Colleges Laguna and Malayan Colleges Mindanao; and AEI and its subsidiaries the University of Nueva Caceres and APEC Schools.

Together, the combined population would be over 40,000 students.

“We are very pleased about this opportunity to partner with the Yuchengco Group of Companies to help build our nation through education. Our belief is that the potential combination of iPeople and AEI would create significant synergies that would enable us to better equip students for compelling futures,” said Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ayala Corporation.

“Mapua’s reputation as a leading private engineering and technical university in the country, together with AEI’s ability to provide quality education leading to enhanced employability, at an affordable price, would enable the Yuchengco Group of Companies and Ayala Corporation to jointly contribute to the improvement of the quality of education in the Philippines, for the benefit of all sectors of society,” House of Investments, Inc. chairperson Helen Y. Dee said.

Under the proposed merger, House of Investments and Ayala Corp. will be involved in the management of the surviving entity, iPeople.

Terms and conditions of the planned merger shall be presented for approval by the parties’ respective boards of directors and merging parties’ stockholders and the transaction will be subject to the requisite regulatory approvals as well.

iPeople, inc. is the listed holding company for the education sector of House of Investments , a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies; while AC Education, Inc. is the wholly-owned education arm of Ayala Corp.