Impiana looking to buy 70% of SOULed OUT operator

KUALA LUMPUR (May 10): Impiana Hotels Bhd has proposed to acquire a 70% equity interest in Cafelink (M) Sdn Bhd in its bid to expand its food and beverages (F&B) footprint outside of the group’s existing F&B business offerings.

On Wednesday, the hotels and resorts operator announced that it had 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% direct shares and 19% 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, the group stated in a statement.

“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.

“This acquisition will expand our F&B footprint outside of the Group’s existing F&B business offerings and build on the brands that Cafelink have grown thus far,” said Impiana’s interim CEO Datuk Hoo Voon Him in the statement accompanying the announcement.

Hoo elaborated that he is optimistic of the future prospects of Malaysia’s food service industry as it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from US$15.2 billion in 2021 to US$23.5 billion in 2026, according to GlobalData.

“We are positive of the industry’s future prospects. Moving forward, we intend to continuously explore various synergistic potential opportunities in order to cultivate better long-term value for our shareholders.”

Impiana closed the day at 10 sen per share, valuing the group at RM47.44 million.