Pizza Hut Gets New Owner as Yum! Brands Completes $1.5 Billion Sale

Private equity firm LongRange Capital agreed to purchase the pizza brand, excluding Pizza Hut in Mainland China, back in June. The firm bought the previous Yum! brand for about $1.5 billion, according to a release from the company. Additionally, Yum! has the opportunity to receive an earn-out of $75 million by 2030.

 Yum! Brands sold Pizza Hut in Mainland China to Yum China Holdings, Inc., on Aug. 7, bringing the two transactions up to $2.7 billion.

“With this transaction complete, Yum! Brands now moves forward as a more focused company with significant opportunities for growth around the world,” Chris Turner, the chief executive officer of Yum! Brands, said. “Our unmatched digital capabilities and scale and our relentless focus on the future consumer, strengthening restaurant economics and leveraging Byte by Yum! will allow us to accelerate growth and deliver sustainable long-term value for our shareholders.” 

Yum! Brands said in February that it was planning to close about 250 U.S Pizza Hut locations.  Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. PepsiCo acquired the chain in 1977 but spun off its restaurant division — which became Yum! Brands — in 1997, according to the Associated Press.