Yum Brands reviews Pizza Hut options, including possible sale

Yum Brands said Tuesday it has launched a formal review of strategic options for Pizza Hut, including possibilities that could take the pizza chain outside the company, after the brand posted weaker sales in the United States. The Louisville, Kentucky based parent said the review will consider a range of outcomes and that no timetable has been set.

Chief executive Chris Turner said the Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges, but that the brand'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." He added that the review aims "to truly take advantage of the brand weve built and the opportunities ahead."

Pizza Hut operates nearly 20,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, with roughly 6,500 locations in the United States. The chain’s U.S. sales have weakened, with U.S. revenue falling about 7 percent in the first nine months of the year, while international sales were up roughly 2 percent in the same period. Yum said Pizza Hut was the only one of its major concepts to report negative same-store sales in the U.S. during the latest...