Yum China and LongRange Capital Will Acquire the Pizza Chain’s Global Operations
- Yum! Brands will sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion to Yum China and LongRange Capital.
- Yum China will acquire the chain’s mainland China business, while LongRange will buy its other markets.
- The sale follows years of weak U.S. sales for Pizza Hut, which has nearly 20,000 locations worldwide.
Two companies will pay Yum! Brands a total of $2.7 billion for its languishing Pizza Hut chain. Reports from ABC News/Associated Press, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal say Yum China will acquire Pizza Hut’s locations in mainland China, and LongRange Capital, a Connecticut-based private equity firm, will buy its locations in the U.S. and elsewhere.
LongRange Capital will spend $1.5 billion, and Yum China will chip in $1.2 billion. Pizza Hut is the second-largest American pizzeria operator, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing market research firm Technomic; it has roughly 6,300 U.S. stores and achieved $5.1 billion in domestic sales last year, according to Technomic. Globally, Pizza Hut operates about 20,000 stores.
Pizza Hut’s Struggles
Yum! Brands, a Louisville, Ky.-based umbrella restaurant franchisor, also owns Taco Bell and KFC. Both of those chains have continued to perform well despite many consumers reducing their dine-out meals.
But Pizza Hut has been a drag on the umbrella franchisor’s overall performance. U.S. sales at the chain have fallen for roughly two years, The Wall Street Journal said. “These transactions enable Yum! to be a more focused company,” Yum! Brands CEO Chris Turner said in a news release.
“Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum!’s portfolio,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in the ABC News/Associated Press report. “Despite efforts to revitalize 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.” By selling Pizza Hut, Yum! Brands can focus more on its brands with stronger sales, Saunders added.
Pizzeria Brands’ Bottom Lines
The U.S. pizza industry boomed right after the COVID pandemic but now has stalled. Citing Technomic data, The Wall Street Journal said domestic sales by fast-food pizza brands declined 0.3% last year as compared to 2024 – the lone food category (among 10 that are tracked) to post a drop. U.S. pizza chains’ $31 billion total for 2025 ranked sixth among restaurant categories, Technomic said; it had been fourth in 2019.
Pizza Hut’s business has performed better in China, The Journal said, with Yum! Brands stating the chain is the nation’s largest casual-dining brand, with $2.3 billion in 2025 sales. The chain operates 4,375 restaurants in China and offers a wide range of pizzas, plus steak and pasta, The Journal said. Yum China said acquiring Pizza Hut’s China business will help the company develop its menu, stores and operations.
In November, Yum! Brands disclosed it was evaluating options for Pizza Hut, including selling the brand known for its signature-red design scheme that extended to tablecloths, plastic cups, booths and restaurants’ blocky red roofs. Outside mainland China, Pizza Hut has about 15,500 restaurants in 108 countries and generated approximately $10 billion in annual sales, according to The Times.
Pizza Hut History
Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 by two brothers who borrowed $600 from their mother to open a pizza restaurant in Wichita, Kansas. It was the largest U.S. pizza chain in 1977, when the founders sold it to PepsiCo for $300 million, equivalent to $1.6 billion in today’s dollars.
Under PepsiCo’s ownership, Pizza Hut expanded during the 1980s and 1990s, optimum decades for the franchise. And then during the late 1990s, PepsiCo spun off its restaurant operations — which included Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC — into a multi-brand franchisor later called Yum! Brands.
Yum! Brands recently pivoted toward carry-out locations, a move that didn’t work out well. The fast-casual brand lost market share in the highly competitive pizzeria segment, The New York Times said. The Journal noted that other pizza brands also are hurting, including Papa Johns, which is closing restaurants.
Despite the problems, Pizza Hut has opened some new restaurants this year, although it also has had many closures. The Hut had said it would close 250 stores during 2026.
Shares of Yum! Brands were up about 2% at $158 in early trading Tuesday, The Times said. According to Yum! Brands, both transactions will close in the third quarter of this year.
About LongRange Capital
New owner LongRange Capital, a relatively small private equity firm, was established in 2019 in Stamford, Conn. The Times said LongRange has acquired or taken stakes in diverse midsize companies, including the 24 Hour Fitness gym chain; U.S. Synthetic, which develops technologies for the mining and energy industries; and Batesville, which makes caskets and other funeral-related products.
LongRange Capital’s portfolio goes further afield with Pizza Hut, and Bob Berlin, a founder and managing partner at the private equity firm believes it can be turned around. “Pizza Hut is a beloved global brand with a rich heritage and a loyal customer base that few brands can match,” Berlin said.
