The French homebuilder KB Home agreed to sell to an investment firm reported double-digit growth in both profit and sales for its first half.

Paris-based Kaufman & Broad SA said profit for the first six months of its fiscal year jumped 17 percent to $55 million, thanks to strong apartment sales and more deposits placed to reserve homes.

Sales for France’s largest homebuilder also got a 10 percent boost to $846 million, with Kaufman & Broad’s Chief Executive Guy Nafilyan adding that he expects sales to rise by at least the same clip over the next year.

KB Home agreed last month to sell its 49 percent stake in Kaufman & Broad last month for $74.24 per share to Paris-based private equity firm PAI Partners. That was 3.5 percent more than the firm’s original offer but still more than 9 percent off of the closing price the day before the offer was made. The deal still needs to be approved by the European Union antitrust regulators. Shares in the French builder closed down 36 cents to $77.65 Wednesday on the Euronext Paris exchange.

Los Angeles-based KB said at the time that it was selling its stake to exit the slumping French market, which has been stung by higher borrowing costs, rising prices and reduced tax breaks for new homeowners. KB said that by selling the homebuilder so it will be able to concentrate solely on the U.S. housing market.

Shares in KB Home closed down 96 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $42.18 Wednesday in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.