Yum Brands announced Tuesday that it is offloading its Pizza Hut chain in a pair of deals totaling $2.7 billion, as the struggling pizza brand faces fierce competition and cautious spending from consumers.
Under the agreement, Yum China will purchase Pizza Hut’s Mainland China operations for $1.2 billion. The remainder of the business will be picked up by private equity firm LongRange Capital for $1.5 billion.
The pizza industry has been under pressure from rising inflation and higher commodity costs, while demand has softened over time. Analysts also point to the growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss medications, which are pushing more consumers toward healthier food choices, as a contributing factor to the slump.
Yum Brands had signaled last year that it was considering its options for Pizza Hut after multiple consecutive quarters of falling sales. The chain brought in roughly 12% of Yum’s total revenue in 2025, but it had fallen well behind sister brands like Taco Bell in performance.
The sale follows Yum Brands entering exclusive negotiations with LongRange Capital back in May. Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner commented on the decision, saying, “These transactions enable Yum! to be a more focused company.”
Pizza Hut has a long corporate history — it was purchased by PepsiCo in 1977, then spun off in 1997 along with KFC and Taco Bell to create a standalone restaurant company. That company eventually became Yum Brands in 2002.
With the Pizza Hut sale, Yum Brands will be left operating only its Taco Bell and KFC brands. Shares of Yum rose roughly 1% in premarket trading following the announcement.
Yum China Holdings, a Shanghai-based company that was itself spun off from Yum Brands, currently operates and franchises more than 18,000 locations across China, including approximately 13,000 KFC restaurants.
Reuters had previously reported in April that several firms — including LongRange, Sycamore Partners, and Apollo Global Management — were competing to acquire Pizza Hut.
