Yum Brands Sells Pizza Hut to New Owners in $2.7 Billion Deal

Yum Brands has agreed to sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion to combat declining sales and intensifying market competition. The deal splits the iconic pizza chain between two buyers: private equity firm LongRange Capital, which is acquiring the majority of Pizza Hut’s global operations for $1.5 billion, and Yum China Holdings, purchasing the mainland China business for $1.2 billion. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transactions are expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, allowing Yum Brands to shift its focus toward its faster-growing fast-food chains, KFC and Taco Bell.

The sale concludes a decades-long chapter for the brand, which was founded in 1958 by brothers Frank and Dan Carney before being acquired by PepsiCo in 1977 and later spun off into what became Yum Brands. Despite maintaining its position as the second-largest pizza operator in the US with approximately 6,300 stores, Pizza Hut has suffered from a two-year domestic sales slump. To streamline operations ahead of the transition, Yum Brands plans to permanently shutter roughly 250 underperforming US outlets this year.

This massive divestment reflects a broader, challenging landscape for the fast-food pizza sector, which has severely lagged behind the wider restaurant industry. Pizza chains are currently grappling with surging inflation, rising commodity costs, tighter household budgets, and shifting consumer habits influenced by GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. LongRange Capital joins a growing trend of private equity firms injecting fresh capital into legacy restaurant brands, expressing strong confidence in Pizza Hut’s enduring global heritage and loyal customer base.

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