Company briefs: Koufu

Shares in foodcourt operator Koufu were suspended from 9am yesterday, upon losing their free float. Its founders' voluntary conditional cash offer for the mainboard-listed company closed on Feb 23, with the offeror receiving valid acceptances representing 98.19 per cent of Koufu's total issued shares.

About 428 million offer shares, or about a 77.41 per cent stake in the company, were tendered by Jun Yuan Holdings as part of an irrevocable undertaking. A further 2.8 million offer shares representing a 0.51 per cent interest in the company were tendered by parties acting in concert with the offeror.

THE BUSINESS TIMES

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Accor

Europe's biggest hotel group Accor said yesterday that it is "well on the way" to more normal levels of activity this year after its core earnings swung back to profit in 2021, helped by higher absorption of fixed costs. The French hotelier, which runs high-end chains Sofitel and Pullman, as well as budget brands such as Ibis, said its business had started to recover last April despite the impact from the pandemic, leading to a significant pickup in activity.

By the end of last year, average room rates came close to or even exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels, thanks to an improvement in demand.

REUTERS

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AIA

Insurance firm AIA Group has agreed to sell its Australian superannuation and investments business to Resolution Life, the companies said yesterday.

The sale transfers more than A$8 billion (S$7.5 billion) in funds under management consisting of policies that date back to the Hong Kong-based insurer's acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia's life insurance business in 2017.

BLOOMBERG