STUDENTS from the University of the East Manila were among the finalists in the PricewaterhouseCoopers 7th Merger and Acquisition Challenge 2022.

BS Accountancy students Karl Patrick Jimenez and Christian Joy Severo and BS Business Administration majors Ma. Claudine Cubangbang and Florieghin Sanglitan emerged as one of the top teams.

This year’s participants included 80 teams from 43 accountancy schools nationwide.

“The final round, which started on November 21, 2022, required the teams to submit their respective outputs online within the prescribed period. The final pitch presentation and awarding ceremonies were held last December 12 at PwC’s Makati office,” UE said.

“Each team was assigned as the group of hypothetical financial advisors to the Board of Directors of LBC Express Co., a Philippine, publicly listed company. All the teams were tasked to present a summary report that highlighted the evaluation of the company’s operations, strategy and valuation analysis, and appropriate startup operations in the Southeast Asian technological industry,” it added.

Launched in 2016, the inter-school competition offers an opportunity for undergraduate students taking business-related studies at the university or college level to test their analytical abilities, and gain realistic and hands-on experience as corporate financial advisers.