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A UNIT of the Phinma Group announced on Wednesday
that it will buy a majority stake in a private university based in
Camarines Sur.
In a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange, the board of Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Inc. (BCI)
gave its nod to buy up to 80 percent of the outstanding shares of
University of Nueva Caceres Inc. for P484.5 million. The school was
founded in 1948 by Dr. Jaime Hernandez, former secretary of finance
under presidents Quezon, Osmeña, Roxas, Magsaysay and Garcia.
The university offers bachelor
degrees in biology, botany, chemistry, economics, mathematics,
accountancy, business administration, computer science, information
technology, information management, education, civil engineering,
mechanical engineering, electronics and communication engineering,
electrical engineering, computer engineering and architecture. It
also offers law and master’s degrees.
BCI already has two education
institutions under its helm, one of which is Araullo University in
Nueva Ecija, which has 6,000 enrollees and registered revenues of
about P128 million and a net income of P12 million in the first nine
months last year.
Acquired in 2005, Cagayan de Oro
College had almost 5,000 students in school year 2005 to 2006. At
end-September last year, the school’s revenues reached P102
million and profits of about P3 million.
Besides investments in education,
BCI has interests in industrial park and property development, oil
exploration, financial services, and coal.
--Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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