Yum! Brands sells Pizza Hut in $2.7bn split — Pizza Near Me
Yum! Brands is selling Pizza Hut in a $2.7 billion deal split between LongRange Capital and Yum China, with the moves expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. For pizza near me customers, the brand’s ownership will separate across mainland China and every other market, ending a long run under one parent company.
LongRange Capital will acquire Pizza Hut outside mainland China for $1.5 billion, while Yum China Holdings will buy the mainland China operations for $1.2 billion. Yum! Brands chief executive Chris Turner said, "Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry," and added, "Pizza Hut is one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the world, and we are proud of the important role it has played in Yum!'s history,".
Yum! Brands and Pizza Hut
The sale follows several quarters of declining US same-stores at Pizza Hut, in a market that makes up 40% of its total international sales. Yum! Brands first revealed in November 2025 that it was exploring a potential sale, and the company said it intends to streamline its corporate focus and resources on KFC and Taco Bell.
The chain has changed hands before. Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, bought by PepsiCo in 1977, and became part of Yum! Brands in 1997 after a spin-off.
LongRange Capital and Yum China
The split deal separates Pizza Hut’s mainland China business from the rest of the brand, giving each buyer a different piece of the operation. That structure leaves the company’s future tied to two owners instead of one, with the transaction size divided into the $1.5 billion purchase outside mainland China and the $1.2 billion purchase inside it.
Yum! Brands has already shown it will act on weaker parts of the portfolio. In October last year, it bought Pizza Hut’s UK operations after DC London Pie fell into administration, a collapse that initially shut 68 restaurants and put more than 1,200 jobs at risk before about 64 restaurants were saved in a rescue deal.
Third quarter of 2026
The next step is execution, not announcement. The transactions are expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, and until then Pizza Hut remains part of Yum! Brands while the two buyers prepare to take over their respective businesses.
For readers who follow the chain as customers or franchise watchers, the practical change is simple: ownership is being split by geography, and Yum! Brands is pulling back to focus on KFC and Taco Bell.
