Yum! Brands has agreed to sell the Pizza Hut chain in a pair of deals valued at a combined $2.7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. The transaction splits the brand between a private-equity firm and a publicly traded spinoff.
Under the deal, LongRange Capital will pay $1.5 billion for Pizza Hut’s U.S. and international operations outside of China. LongRange Capital is a private-equity firm. Yum China Holdings, which was spun off from Yum! Brands in 2016, will acquire the chain’s mainland China business for $1.2 billion.
Pizza Hut once dominated the American pizza market, but the Wall Street Journal’s report describes the chain as having lost its position in the U.S. and facing challenges that led to what it called a “pivotal moment.” The company included a video with its report examining what went wrong.
The sale marks the end of Yum! Brands’ ownership of the Pizza Hut chain, which it had operated for decades. Yum! Brands also owns KFC and Taco Bell.