FEU to take over Roosevelt College

FAR Eastern University, one of the country’s leading private providers of tertiary education, plans to expand its footprint in the education sector by buying a controlling stake in Roosevelt College Inc.

FEU disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday that its board had approved the acquisition of up to 99.42 percent but no less than 73.99 percent of Roosevelt for P1.25 billion.

“The Roosevelt College owners have graciously agreed to allow FEU to take a closer look at their operations. We believe there are opportunities to integrate with FEU this venerable 80-year old institution with five greater Metro Manila campuses and 5,000 students in both the basic education and tertiary level,” FEU chair Aurelio Montinola III said in a text message, when asked about the rationale for this move.

The P1.25 billion budget was the estimated valuation for a 99.42 percent stake in Roosevelt.

FEU’s board has mandated the university president Michael Alba and chief finance officer Juan Miguel Montinola to negotiate and come to an agreement on the final price and other terms and conditions of the transaction. They were also tasked to conduct a due diligence audit.

Roosevelt is a private non-sectarian college system with five campuses in the following locations: Cainta, Rodriguez (Rizal), San Mateo, Marikina and Cubao.

A group of prominent citizens and educators organized in 1945 a corporation to operate a secondary school in the same old hacienda house previously used by Marikina Academy. The school was named Roosevelt Memorial High School in honor of the late wartime US president Franklin Roosevelt.

For its part, FEU ended 2015 with consolidated assets of around P10 billion.

FEU’s net profit after tax amounted to P768.13 million for the nine-month period ended 2015, almost the same as last year’s P772.20 million. The net profit was backed by an increase in operating revenues despite certain increases in operating expenses.

For the school year 2015 – 2016, FEU schools registered an enrollment increase of 6 percent. It had a student population of 33,969 and 31,311 for the first and second semesters, respectively.