Deals
Yum China Soars on Report Pizza Hut Operator Rejected Buyout
- Investor group’s offer was reportedly valued at $17 billion
- Group led by Hillhouse included KKR and Chinese wealth fund
A pedestrian walks past a Yum! Brands Inc. Pizza Hut restaurant at night in Shanghai.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Yum China Holdings Inc., which operates Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants, has rejected a buyout offer from an investor group led by Hillhouse Capital Group, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The proposal to take over China’s biggest fast-food operator valued the company at $17 billion, or $46 a share in cash, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the rejection. That would represent a 28 percent premium over Monday’s closing price, yet is still lower than an all-time high of $48.18 reached in January.