Impiana Hotels Bhd, a hotels and resorts operator, is expanding its food and beverages (F&B) footprint and intends to purchase a 70 per cent equity interest in Cafelink (M) Sdn Bhd.
The company's interim chief executive officer Datuk Hoo Voon Him is upbeat about the possibilities for Malaysia's food service sector going forward.
According to GlobalData, the food service industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9 per cent from US$15.2 billion in 2021 to US$23.5 billion in 2026.
Impiana told the stock exchange that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Choo Kok Yeow, a major shareholder of Cafelink who represents the existing shareholders of the company, to acquire 217,000 ordinary shares in the F&B operator.
Choo holds 33 per cent direct shares and 19 per cent indirect shares through Ground Zero (M) Sdn Bhd of Cafelink.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Impiana will own, operate and manage two brands under Cafelink, namely SOULed OUT and WIP which have locations spread across Klang Valley and Sabah.
Hoo said this acquisition will expand the company's F&B footprint outside of its existing F&B business offerings and build on the brands that Cafelink have grown thus far.
"Following the rapid evolving consumer demand in recent years, we see the immense need to expand our business portfolio horizontally to maintain our competitiveness and keep up with the consumer demand.
"Moving forward, we intend to continuously explore various synergistic potential opportunities in order to cultivate better long-term value for our shareholders," he said in a statement.