On Sep, 30 2026, DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Hayselton Enterprises Limited has signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Maxim’s Caterers Limited to reorganise their interests in Maxim’s and its subsidiary businesses.

Under the deal, DFI will acquire full ownership of the Starbucks licensed business that runs more than 1,100 coffeehouses in Thailand, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau SAR and Laos. In exchange, Maxim’s will buy back DFI’s 50 per cent stake in Maxim’s and pay about 462 million Singapore dollars in cash (approximately 340 million US dollars, subject to closing adjustments).

Completion is conditional on third-party consents, antitrust approvals and the internal separation of the Starbucks operations. The companies expect to close the transaction by Mar, 31 2027, with an automatic extension to Jun, 30 2027 if needed. The deal is classified as a material related-party transaction under UK DTR 7.3.

The Starbucks licensed business generated roughly 1.0 billion Singapore dollars in revenue in 2025 with a 7 per cent underlying operating margin. Post-acquisition, it is forecast to contribute 816–884 million Singapore dollars to DFI’s revenue between Apr and Dec 2027 and about 1.22 billion Singapore dollars for the full year 2028, with a targeted mid-term operating margin of 8–9 per cent. Annual operating synergies of roughly 14 million Singapore dollars are anticipated from procurement, overhead and real-estate efficiencies.

The cash proceeds will strengthen DFI’s balance sheet, support potential total-shareholder-return-accretive acquisitions and fund additional capital returns. The company has also lifted its dividend payout ratio to 80 per cent for 2027 and reaffirmed its 2028 underlying profit guidance of 422–476 million Singapore dollars (310–350 million US dollars).