Yum China Holdings is moving to take full ownership of the Pizza Hut brand on the Chinese mainland in a $1.2 billion deal, a strategic shift that would eliminate ongoing royalty payments to Yum Brands.
The move gives the company direct control of one of its most profitable and fast-growing restaurant businesses.
The transaction is expected to improve store economics and accelerate expansion as Yum China pushes to deepen its dominance in the country's casual dining market.
Pizza Hut is currently the largest casual dining restaurant brand in China under the Yum China portfolio. In 2025, the business generated $2.3 billion in segment revenue and $183 million in operating profit. In the first quarter of 2026, it posted its 13th consecutive quarter of same-store transaction growth and its eighth straight quarter of margin and operating profit expansion.
Yum China, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut on the Chinese mainland, said it plans to expand the Pizza Hut footprint to more than 6,000 restaurants by 2028, up from 4,375 locations across more than 1,100 cities today.
