LongRange Capital snaps up Pizza Hut as Yum! sells chain for $2.7bn

The private equity firm LongRange Capital has agreed to take on one of the world's best-known but most troubled restaurant brands, buying the bulk of Pizza Hut from Yum! Brands.

Under definitive agreements announced on Tuesday, Yum! is selling Pizza Hut for $2.7bn in total, with LongRange acquiring the business outside mainland China for about $1.5bn and Yum China Holdings buying the mainland China operations for around $1.2bn.

Pizza Hut has fallen well behind in a market it once defined, having been slow to move from its sit-down, salad-bar heritage to the delivery and carryout model that now dominates. Rivals led by Domino’s have steadily taken share, and third-party platforms such as DoorDash have siphoned off more.