Ateneo de Davao University emerged victorious in the 9th PwC Philippines M&A Challenge, with their team “Certified Professional Yappers” being crowned as the competition’s Champion on 21 January 2025. The team, coached by Mr. Neil Patrick S. Muega, MBA, included Enrico Daniel B. David (Acc 3), Anne Gayle G. Binancilan (Acc 4), Princess Ma. Aldys M. Jumawan (Acc 4), and Justine Paul R. Bautista (Acc 4). They bested 103 other teams from 53 participating higher educational institutions all over the country. Our very own Enrico Daniel B. David was also hailed as the competition’s Best Presenter. Following AdDU, the team from Ateneo de Manila University bagged the 1st Runner Up spot, while the team from Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Manila ranked 2nd Runner Up. Other finalists included teams from University of San Carlos, University of the Philippines – Visayas, and De La Salle University – Dasmariñas.
According to PwC PH’s website, this annual competition invited undergraduate college students to analyze a mergers and acquisitions case, working on a hypothetical deal that seeks to generate long-term value. For this year, the theme is on emerging technologies, where a large, highly diversified corporation will seek to invest in or partner with a company that provide technology services to help them achieve their commitment to innovation and efficiency.
This year’s victory marked a three-peat grandslam for our university, following the triumphant victories of our teams, Team Athens in 2022, and Team Magis&Amazing in 2023-2024. Enrico David also scored a back-to-back for the Best Presenter award following last year’s feat by our own Chloe Ysabelle M. Gempesaw (BS Accountancy, 2024).
