Ateneans win Silver in the 9th Annual PwC M&A Challenge

Four students from the John Gokongwei School of Management once again bagged Silver in the 9th edition of the PwC Philippines Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Challenge, the Final Round of which was held in person last 21 January 2025 at the offices of Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines in the AIA Tower in Makati City.

The team was composed of Maxinne Louise Dominique Co (4 BS ME), Rhalph Louise Atienza (4 BS ME), Jasmine Abby Sotto (4 BS ME), and Anne Tiffany del Rosario (3 BS ME). Louie Miranda (BS MGT 2023), Trina Hombre (BS MGT 2024) and James Soriano (BS MGT-H 2012) served as the team’s mentors and coaches. Maxinne Co was also the recipient of the Bronze Award for Best Speaker.

Teams from Ateneo de Davao University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines won Gold and Bronze, respectively. As first-runner up, the team received a trophy and a check worth PhP50,000.00.

The win continues extends Ateneo’s record of seven podium finishes, the most of any university to date, including two championships, as well as eight finals appearances out of a possible nine. 

This year’s challenge was to advise a pre-assigned publicly-listed Philippine company (the “Client”) in expanding their digital capabilities, particularly in fintech, agritech and health tech, depending on the company aside. The competition then proceeded through 3 rounds. 

In the preliminary round, each team was asked to identify a target company to partner with or acquire to enhance their capabilities in the applicable sector, including an analysis of how the integration drives the Client’s future growth and improves market positioning, as well as the target’s capabilities and financial standing, operational and financial synergies, potential risks and opportunities. Based on their outputs, 15 teams were then picked to advance to the semi-final round, where they delivered a 10-minute online presentation, followed by a 20-minute Q&A with a panel of PwC professionals. 6 teams were then selected for the final.

In the final round, teams were asked to expand their outputs with a sentiment analysis and a valuation analysis of the target. These were then presented to a panel of PwC senior professionals as well as other business leaders.

The competition ran from October 2024 to January 2025, with 104 teams from 52 colleges and universities joining the competition.

Held annually, the PwC Philippines M&A Challenge is the country’s pioneer M&A-focused business case competition for university students in the Philippines. Since its launch in 2016, the M&A Challenge has provided a platform and opportunity for undergraduate students to exercise and expand their skills in solving real-world business challenges, and experience becoming corporate finance advisors.