PHINMA acquires 84.91% stake in Southeastern Colleges

PHINMA Education Holdings, Inc. has acquired an 84.91% stake in Southeastern Colleges, Inc., expanding its presence in southern Metro Manila as well as in Laguna and Cavite.

The transaction, completed on March 13, involved the acquisition of 64,834 shares of Southeastern Colleges, Inc.

The deal also includes an investment in additional shares to subsequently acquire the school’s land and buildings, bringing the total transaction value to P690 million.

Founded in 1946, Southeastern Colleges becomes PHINMA Education’s 12^th school in the Philippines and the 14^th across its regional network.

Its Pasay campus will be integrated into the PHINMA Saint Jude College network in the National Capital Region, alongside campuses in Manila and Quezon City, expanding services to about 80,000 students.

“With every school we bring into our network, our focus is helping more Filipino students complete their education and move forward with better opportunities,” PHINMA Education Philippines Country Head Christopher “Happy” A. Tan said in a statement on Monday.

“Many of our students are the first in their families to go to college. We want them to know that college is possible — and once they begin their journey, we are committed to walking with them every step of the way,” he added.

Southeastern Colleges, which is joining the PHINMA Education network, will adopt the group’s approach to student success.

“We are in the business of reducing poverty through education. So we build schools where students are empowered to persist, those who’ve dropped out are welcomed back, and every student has the opportunity to complete their education at their own pace and on their own terms. No one is left behind — and to every student who chooses to pursue college, we say: “sasamahan kita,” Mr. Tan said.

PHINMA Education is the education unit of the Del Rosario-led conglomerate PHINMA Corp. It entered the education services sector in 2004 after acquiring PHINMA Araullo University in Nueva Ecija and now serves about 178,000 students across the Philippines and Indonesia.

Other PHINMA Education schools include PHINMA St. Jude College Manila, PHINMA St. Jude College Quezon City, PHINMA St. Jude College Dasmariñas (Cavite), PHINMA Araullo University, PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College, PHINMA University of Pangasinan, PHINMA UPang College Urdaneta, PHINMA University of Iloilo, PHINMA Rizal College of Laguna, PHINMA Union College of Laguna, and Southwestern University PHINMA.

The company also operates Horizon University and Kalbis University in Indonesia. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno