Yum to sell Pizza Hut in deals valued at $2.7 billion
LongRange Capital will buy most of Pizza Hut, while Yum China will take the mainland China business in a separate transaction.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Yum Brands said Tuesday it will sell Pizza Hut in transactions valued at about $2.7 billion, ending the chain’s long run inside the same corporate family as Taco Bell and KFC. The move gives the struggling pizza brand new owners after years of pressure from rivals and changes in how customers order food.
According to CNBC, private equity firm LongRange Capital will buy Pizza Hut for roughly $1.5 billion. Yum China will acquire Pizza Hut’s mainland China locations in a separate deal worth about $1.2 billion, CNBC reported.
Yum said the sales are expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. The company said its management will give more information on the financial impact during its second-quarter conference call on July 30.
Years of pressure on the chain
CNBC reported that Pizza Hut’s performance has weighed on Yum’s results after years of struggles. In the U.S., the chain moved away from its older sit-down restaurant model, including dining rooms and salad bars, and shifted toward delivery and carryout later than key competitors, according to CNBC.
Domino’s Pizza has gained share from Pizza Hut for years, CNBC reported. Third-party delivery companies such as DoorDash have also taken sales from the chain, according to CNBC.
Yum said in November that it was considering strategic options for Pizza Hut. On Tuesday, the company said its board and leadership concluded that a sale would offer the strongest route to maximizing shareholder value and would place Pizza Hut under an ownership structure better matched to its markets, competitive position and long-term priorities.
Proceeds and costs
Across the two transactions, Yum expects about $2.3 billion in net proceeds after taxes, closing adjustments and fees, according to CNBC. That figure excludes a possible $75 million earn-out from LongRange Capital by 2030.
Yum also expects about $85 million in one-time expenses during the rest of 2026 tied to the deals, CNBC reported.
A long corporate history
Brothers Dan and Frank Carney founded Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958, according to CNBC. The company began franchising the concept a year later.
Pizza Hut went public in 1969 and became the world’s largest pizza chain two years later, CNBC reported. Domino’s took that title in 2017, according to CNBC.
PepsiCo bought Pizza Hut in 1977, marking the beverage company’s move into restaurants, CNBC reported. By 1986, PepsiCo also owned Taco Bell and KFC.
When PepsiCo spun off its restaurant business in 1997, the new holding company was called Tricon Global Restaurants, CNBC reported. It was later renamed Yum Brands.
At the end of 2025, Pizza Hut had nearly 20,000 restaurants in 108 countries and territories and generated $12.8 billion in annual system sales, according to Yum regulatory filings cited by CNBC. The U.S. was the chain’s largest market at about 40% of system sales, followed by China at roughly 20%, according to those filings.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.