Yum to Offload Struggling Pizza Hut Chain for $2.7 Billion (3)

Yum! Brands Inc. is selling its struggling Pizza Hut division for $2.7 billion, allowing the restaurant operator to focus on its better-performing KFC and Taco Bell chains.

Private equity firm LongRange Capital will acquire Pizza Hut excluding China for $1.5 billion, Yum said in a statement Tuesday. Yum China Holdings Inc. will buy the rest of the business for $1.2 billion. The transactions are expected to close in the third quarter.

Yum shares rose as much as 3.6% Tuesday morning in New York. The stock had gained 2.2% this year through Monday’s close, trailing the S&P 500’s 10% advance.

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