Pizza Hut Rebrands to 'Hut' as Yum! Sells Chain for $2.7B

Pizza Hut is dropping the word "Pizza" from its name for the next 25 weeks, calling itself simply "Hut" to coincide with the 2026 NFL season. The temporary rebrand, announced on social media, is a marketing push that arrives as parent company Yum! Brands closes a $2.7 billion sale of the chain.

Yum! agreed to sell Pizza Hut's operations outside mainland China to private equity firm LongRange Capital for about $1.5 billion. Yum China Holdings purchased the mainland China operations in a separate $1.2 billion deal. Yum! expects around $2.3 billion in net proceeds from the combined transactions.

"Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry," Yum! CEO Chris Turner said in a statement.

The $2.7 Billion Split

Apollo Global Management and Sycamore Partners were also reported to have explored bids for Pizza Hut, Reuters said earlier. LongRange emerged as the exclusive buyer after a period of evaluation. Yum! said the sale remains on track to close in August.

The divestiture follows a prolonged slump in Pizza Hut's U.S. business. Comparable sales in the U.S. have declined for 10 consecutive quarters, according to Reuters. The chain generated about 12% of Yum!'s revenue in 2025.

The "Hut" rebrand is a football-themed promotion. Pizza Hut, headquartered in Plano, Texas, covered the word "Pizza" on a location's exterior sign with a football banner. The chain also changed its social media profile images to a logo without the word "Pizza." After the 25-week promotion ends, the original name is expected to return.

Yum! Brands carries an Alpha Score of 45 out of 100, a Mixed label in AlphaScala's proprietary system. The score reflects the company's mixed earnings momentum and the uncertainty surrounding the Pizza Hut sale's impact on the remaining portfolio.

The sale is expected to close in August.