Yum! Brands is selling its Pizza Hut business to Yum China and LongRange Capital within and outside the Chinese mainland, respectively, for a total of USD2.7 billion.
On June 16, Yum China announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Pizza Hut brand in the Chinese mainland from Yum! Brands for USD1.2 billion in cash. At the same time, private equity firm LongRange Capital will acquire the Pizza Hut business outside the Chinese mainland for USD1.5 billion.
Sidley Austin, Fangda Partners, Weil, Mayer Brown, Paul Weiss and Greenberg Traurig advised on the two transactions.
The separate deals are both expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
Sidley Austin advised Yum China with M&A and private equity partners Paul Choi and Scott Williams leading the team, alongside technology and life sciences partners Mark Kaufmann and Lauren Grau. Other team members included partners Greg Featherman, Kelly Dybala, Olivia Ngan and Claudia Yu.
Fangda Partners acted as PRC counsel to Yum China, advising on intellectual property and other matters, with a team including partners Claudia Yun, Michael Han, Tan Peng, Jeffrey Ding and Rock Wang.
Weil and Mayer Brown advised Yum! Brands on both disposals.
M&A partners Michael Aiello and Amanda Fenster led Weil’s team, which included technology and IP practice head Charan Sandhu, M&A tax head Devon Bodoh, US antitrust co‑head Brianne Kucerik, executive compensation and benefits head Paul Wessel, and real estate co‑head Jannelle Seales, as well as partners Mark Seidman, Liza Cotter, Peter Mee, Matthew Morton and John O’Loughlin.
Mayer Brown’s team was led by partners Jodi Simala, Nina Flax and Richard Assmus.
Paul Weiss advised LongRange Capital, with partner Angelo Bonvino leading the team, and partners Cullen Sinclair and Matthew Benedetto also involved. Greenberg Traurig provided franchise‑related legal advice.
Yum China, previously the China division of Yum! Brands, was spun off and listed independently on the NYSE in November 2016, and completed a secondary listing on the HKEX in September 2020.
Pizza Hut opened its first restaurant in the Chinese mainland in Beijing in 1990. As of the end of March 2026, more than 4,300 Pizza Hut restaurants are open in the Chinese mainland.
On completion, Yum China will no longer be required to pay Yum! Brands an annual franchise fee of 3% of net system sales.
