PIZZA HUT, the 68-year-old chain that has long struggled with growing competition and outdated restaurants, will be sold for US$2.7 billion by parent company Yum Brands.
Yum Brands said this week that the private equity firm LongRange Capital will buy Pizza Hut, excluding the mainland China business, for about US$1.5 billion.
In mainland China, Pizza Hut will be purchased by Yum China Holdings Inc for approximately US$1.2 billion, the company said. China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market outside the US, accounting for 19% of sales. Yum China Holdings Inc spun off from Yum Brands and became an independent company in 2016.
Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, began to explore its options for Pizza Hut in November. Last year, Yum Brands’ global sales rose 5% but Pizza Hut’s sales fell 2%.
In February, Yum Brands announced plans to close 250 US Pizza Hut locations. Pizza Hut had 19,974 restaurants worldwide at the end of last year.
“Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum’s portfolio,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, wrote Tuesday.
“Despite efforts to revitalise the brand and shut underperforming locations, it has become increasingly clear that pushing the division back into growth will require a level of investment and patience that Yum is just not prepared to commit to.”
The chain has been pinched in recent years by the growth of DoorDash, Uber Eats and other restaurant delivery companies which marketed access to a slew of cuisines besides pizza.
US pizza sales have slowed considerably since the pandemic, growing less than 1% in 2024 and falling less than 1% in 2025, according to Technomic, a restaurant consulting company. But Pizza Hut performed worse than average, with US sales down 8.2% last year, Technomic said.
By selling Pizza Hut, Yum Brands can focus more on its brands with stronger sales, Yum CEO 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,” Turner said in a statement.
