Commission Decision No. 42-M-038/2018: Merger of iPeople, Inc. and AC Education, Inc.

ABSTRACT: 

The proposed transaction is a merger between iPeople Inc. a subsidiary of House of Investments Inc. and AC Education Inc. (AEI) , a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, with iPeople as the surviving entity of the merger. Both iPeople and AEI are engaged in the business of owning and operating educational institutions in the Philippines, with iPeople behind the Malayan Education System and Mapua University, while AC Education runs Affordable Private Education Center (APEC) Schools and University of Nueva Caceres.

As a consequence of the merger, AC as the major shareholder of AEI will acquire 28.28% interest in iPeople in exchange for all the assets of AEI, including that of its subsidiaries.

The merger, as per the parties, is pursued because it is deemed desirable and advantageous to both corporations and their common stockholders for the following business reasons: (a) To enable accelerated growth and provide stronger academic offerings and career prospects for the students of AEI’s and iPeople’s schools; (b) to broaden the suite of program offerings and widen the geographic reach of the AEI’s and iPeople’s schools; and (c) to unlock synergies between iPeople and AEI to be able to deliver quality education.