NurPhoto / Getty Images
Yum Brands $YUM -1.39% is in exclusive talks to sell its Pizza Hut chain to private equity firm LongRange Capital, according to Reuters.
A deal between the two companies could potentially close within a matter of weeks, though people familiar with the matter cautioned that nothing is certain. Sycamore Partners and other competing suitors were edged out after LongRange secured an exclusivity agreement with Yum in recent days, according to Bloomberg. Representatives for Yum, LongRange, and Sycamore declined to comment.
Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell and is based in Louisville, Kentucky, said last year that it was reviewing strategic options for Pizza Hut, including a possible sale, as the chain struggled to keep pace with the company's other brands. Pizza Hut had drawn interest from multiple suitors, including Sycamore Partners, Apollo Global Management, and LongRange, according to Reuters.
As a portion of Yum's overall revenue, Pizza Hut has steadily lost ground each year going back to 2019, dropping from over 18% to roughly 12% by 2025. Over the same stretch, Yum's total revenue expanded by approximately 47% to reach $8.2 billion last year, even as Pizza Hut's own sales barely budged from the $1 billion mark, Bloomberg reported.
