Yum Brands sells Pizza Hut in $2.7 billion deal

Yum! Brands is selling Pizza Hut in a $2.7 billion deal that will break up ownership of the struggling pizza chain, handing most of the business to a U.S. private equity firm while its mainland China operations go to Yum China Holdings.

The company said Tuesday that LongRange Capital will acquire Pizza Hut outside mainland China for $1.5 billion. Yum China will buy the mainland China business for $1.2 billion. The transactions are expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals, the BBC reported.

“Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry,” Yum! Brands Chief Executive Chris Turner said in a statement.

The sale follows a difficult stretch for one of the best-known names in American casual dining. Yum! Brands began exploring options for Pizza Hut in November 2025 after several quarters of declining U.S. same-store sales, according to the BBC. CBS News reported that the review followed declining comparable-store sales.

Pizza Hut has lagged Yum’s other major restaurant chains, including KFC and Taco Bell. The company’s latest earnings report showed Pizza Hut’s sales growth trailing those brands, and in February Yum! Brands said it would close 250 Pizza Hut locations in the United States. The chain has more than 6,000 locations nationwide.

“Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum’s portfolio,” Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData, said in an email Tuesday. “Despite efforts to revitalize the brand and shut underperforming locations, it has become increasingly clear that pushing the division back into growth will require a level of investment and patience that Yum is just not prepared to commit to.”

Saunders said Pizza Hut has been losing market share to Domino’s, which he said has outperformed the chain in ordering, delivery, menu innovation and marketing.

The BBC reported that Pizza Hut has also faced intensifying competition from Domino’s, Papa John’s and Little Caesars, as those chains have used discounts to attract price-sensitive customers during a period of persistent inflation. Mid-sized regional chains have further pressured the business by adapting more quickly to changing consumer habits, while third-party delivery apps have expanded diners’ choices and weakened Pizza Hut’s historic dominance, the BBC reported.

The U.S. market remains central to Pizza Hut’s business, accounting for 40% of its total international sales, according to the BBC.

Turner called Pizza Hut “one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the world” and said Yum was “proud of the important role it has played in Yum!’s history.” By divesting most of the division, Yum! Brands intends to focus its corporate resources on its remaining core brands, including KFC and Taco Bell, the BBC reported.

Yum! Brands will continue to operate Pizza Hut restaurants in the United Kingdom rather than transfer them to private equity, according to the BBC. The company bought the U.K. operations in October after DC London Pie, which ran the dine-in restaurants, fell into administration. The collapse initially shut 68 restaurants and put more than 1,200 jobs at risk, but about 64 restaurants were saved in a rescue deal.

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. PepsiCo acquired the chain in 1977 and spun off its restaurant division in 1997, creating what became Yum! Brands.