A TEAM of BS Management Engineering students from the Ateneo de Manila University placed second in the PwC Philippines Mergers and Acquisitions Challenge 2020.

The team is composed of Tiffany Diane Golangco, John Michel Lee, Beatriz Ysabel Reyes, and Hazel Anne Louise Si. They were mentored by Enrique Jaime Soriano of the Department of Financing and Accounting.

Seventy-eight teams representing 35 universities joined the competition.

The merger and acquisition focused case study tilt tests students’ analytical abilities and understanding of business concepts in Philippine settings.

“Joining this competition was a step out of our comfort zones! Despite the challenges, we’re grateful for learning more than what we expected. We’re thankful for the opportunity to work together, while learning from our coaches and from industry professionals,” the team said.

“From the first time analyzing our target company up to the final moments leading up to the Q&A, we grasped the many ins and outs of the diverse M&A field. We are humbled to participate in this online competition, and hope that we inspired other students in adapting to this new normal while giving their team’s best,” they added.

Soriano said that it was a well-deserved win.

“All credit really belongs to the team, whose presentation was exceptionally well-made, especially considering that their competition was composed mainly of 4th and 5th year students. I am immensely proud of John, Hazel, Tiff and Bea,” he added.

The team won a trophy and P25,000.