(Yicai) Oct. 11 -- Shares of KE Holdings jumped after China’s biggest real estate agent said it plans to buy home decor firm iSpace Home Technology for up to CNY1.6 billion (USD200 million).

KE [HKG: 2423] was trading up 4.7 percent at HKD42.45 (USD5.43) as of 1.50 p.m. in Hong Kong today. The company’s New York-listed shares [NASDAQ: BEKE] closed 6.2 percent up at USD16.38.

The acquisition of iSpace, expected to be completed in the first half of next year, aims to enrich KE’s home decor brands and products, strengthen its supply chain and delivery capabilities, and enhance customer conversion rates, the Beijing-based realtor announced today.

KE launched its home decor business in 2019 and upgraded it two years later when it invested CNY8 billion to buy Hangzhou-based Shengdu Home Furnishings. The value of home decor contracts signed by KE in the first half of the year exceeded CNY6 billion, up 107 percent from a year earlier. Revenue from the home decor business jumped 76 percent to CNY4 billion in the period.

KE’s gross transaction value in the second quarter reached CNY780.6 billion (USD107.6 billion), an increase of 22 percent from a year earlier, according to the company’s latest earnings report. Net profit was CNY1.3 billion in the three months ended June 30, compared to a net loss of CNY1.9 billion in the same period last year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione