Pizza Hut sold by Yum Brands for $2.7 billion

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A small pizza in a box rests on a table at a Pizza Hut restaurant on June 16, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Yum Brands announced it is selling Pizza Hut to private equity firm LongRange Capital for roughly $1.5 billion. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Pizza Hut, whose famous red roofs dotted cities across the country before changes in the restaurant industry cut into its popularity, was sold for $2.7 billion.

Big picture view:

Yum Brands Inc., the pizza chain’s parent company, announced the sale Tuesday, explaining that Pizza Hut will be sliced into two parts and sold to different buyers. The private equity firm LongRange Capital is expected to pay $1.5 billion to purchase the bulk of those operations, including the U.S. side of the business.

Operations in mainland China will be sold for $1.2 billion to Yum China Holdings Inc., a spin-off of Yum Brands that became an independent company in 2016. China is Pizza Hut’s second-largest market, accounting for nearly 20% of sales.

By the numbers:

Yum Brands had been exploring options for Pizza Hut since November 2025 and determined that it should sell the chain. The company, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, saw a 5% increase in global sales last year, yet Pizza Hut’s sales declined 2%.

In February, Yum Brands said it would close 250 Pizza Hut locations in the U.S.

What they're saying:

"Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum’s portfolio," Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, wrote Tuesday. "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."

The backstory:

Pizza Hut, along with its checked tablecloths and red plastic cups, was founded in 1958 by two brothers in Wichita, Kansas, who borrowed $600 to open it. They picked Pizza Hut as the name because the sign could only hold eight letters.

By 1971, it was the largest pizza chain in the world by sales. It was purchased in 1977 by Pepsi, which later spun it and other restaurants off to become Yum Brands.

Things took a turn for Pizza Hut in the 1980s when Domino’s burst onto the scene, promising 30-minute delivery. As more and more people began to eat pizza at home, Pizza Hut found itself saddled with large dine-in restaurants. The rise of apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats gave at-home diners a whole new slew of delivery options, further pressuring sales.

At the end of last year, the pizza chain had 19,974 locations.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from Yum Brands Inc. and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.

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