Ayala Corp. ventures into education, to open 12 schools in Metro Manila this year

In looking for new growth sources after selling its stake in Stream Global Services Inc., Ayala Corp. is spending $4 million to build 12 schools in the country with its London-based partner, Pearson Ltd., to serve the service sector.

“We've allocated a little over $4 million for the first few schools on the Ayala side and Pearson has committed their commensurate 40 percent share,” LiveIt Investments Ltd. CEO Alfredo I. Ayala told reporters at a briefing Friday.

LiveIt is the business process outsourcing investment arm of Ayala Corp.

Ayala said LiveIt plans to build 12 schools – specifically for junior and senior high school (or grades 8 to 12) – with a capacity of 300 students each initially in Metro Manila within the year.

“We will start in Metro Manila, in areas that are most congested to help address DepEd's (Department of Education) major priorities which are Quezon City, Caloocan City, Marikina City, Pasig City," Ayala said.

On January 29, London-based Pearson Ltd. announced it has partnered with Ayala Corp. to start a chain of low-cost secondary schools in the country.

“They have been specifically been building chains of low-cost, affordable but high-quality schools in countries like Ghana, Kenya, India and Bangladesh," Ayala said.

In March, Convergys Corp. completed the acquisition of Stream Global Services Inc. for $850 million from Ares Management and Providence Equity Partners and LiveIt.

Supply and demand and macro-economic needs are important factors in looking for new investment opportunities, the company official said.

“What we've learned from the BPO sector is there is tremendous demand for Filipino talent. There is also demand from parents for affordable education,” Ayala said.

“Our goal is to be one of the largest educators specifically catering to services sector,” he added. — KBK, GMA News