Yum! Brands will sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion, splitting the chain between LongRange Capital and Yum China Holdings. The move pulls the company out of a brand that has lagged its portfolio, after Pizza Hut's sales fell 2% last year.
LongRange And Yum China Split Pizza Hut
$1.5 billion will buy Pizza Hut’s business outside mainland China through LongRange Capital, while Yum China Holdings will pay about $1.2 billion for the mainland China operation. 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," giving the chain two owners with different geographic responsibilities.
19% of Pizza Hut sales came from China, Yum Brands said, making that market the second-largest outside the U.S. The split keeps that business with a company already tied to the brand’s China operations, while the rest of Pizza Hut moves to a private equity owner founded in 2019 by Bob Berlin.
Pizza Hut's Weak Sales Run
5% was the increase in Yum Brands' global sales last year, versus Pizza Hut’s 2% decline. Neil Saunders said, "Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum’s portfolio," a blunt assessment that matches a chain facing weaker U.S. demand and a smaller share of growth than its parent.
250 U.S. Pizza Hut locations were slated for closure in February, after 300 U.S. restaurants were closed in 2020. Pizza Hut’s U.S. sales were down 8.2% last year, according to Technomic, while U.S. pizza sales rose less than 1% in 2024 and fell less than 1% in 2025.
What The Buyers Get
19,974 restaurants worldwide gave Pizza Hut scale at the end of last year, but the chain still entered this sale with a mixed record. Bob Berlin said, "Pizza Hut is a beloved global brand with a rich heritage and a loyal customer base that few brands can match," and said he looked forward to working with Pizza Hut’s executive team and franchisees "to drive its next phase of growth."
1958 was the year Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita, Kansas, by two brothers who borrowed $600 from their mother to open the store. The red roof arrived in 1969, the chain became the world’s top pizza brand by sales in 1971, and PepsiCo bought it in 1977 before spinning off its restaurant division in 1997. That long history now ends in a split sale that leaves Yum Brands with a cleaner portfolio and gives Pizza Hut two owners tasked with reversing years of erosion.
