Yum Brands to conduct strategic review of Pizza Hut

Nov. 4 (UPI) — Yum Brands announced Tuesday that it will begin a formal review of strategic options for its subsidiary Pizza Hut.

Yum Brands owns Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, along with Habit Burger and Grill.

“The intent is for Pizza Hut to reach its full potential for the benefit of its franchisees, consumers and employees, and to maximize value for Yum shareholders,” the company said in a press release.

Yum CEO Chris Turner said in the release that the company is confident in Pizza Hut’s long-term future.

“Pizza Hut has many strengths — including deep consumer love, a global footprint, strong growth in many markets, a talented team, and an increasingly powerful technology platform,” he said.

There is no set timeline for the review, and Yum didn’t say what options it plans to explore.

Possibilities likely include divestiture, a joint venture or sale of a stake, according to CNBC.

“The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands,” Turner said.

“To truly take advantage of the brand we’ve built and the opportunities ahead, we’ve made the decision to initiate a thorough review of strategic options,” he said.

The trio of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell were once owned by PepsiCo, until it spun off its restaurants in 1997 to Tricon Global, which later renamed itself to Yum.

Pizza Hut’s same-store sales fell 1% during the third quarter, as compared to Taco Bell and KFC, which reported same-store sales growth of 7% and 3%, CNBC reported.

Earlier Tuesday, Starbucks announced it was entering a joint venture with Boyu Capital to run its stores in China.

Starbucks will retain a 40% stake in the stores as part of the deal.