REPORT: The owner of Taco Bell and KFC may sell part of its huge Chinese business
Yum! Brands, the owner of fast food chains Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, is exploring a sale of nearly 20% of its massive Chinese business, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The company is in talks on a sale of 19.9% of its soon-to-come Chinese subsidiary Yum China to private equity firms, according to the report. The deal could value the entire Chinese operations at $10 billion.
The company said in October that it plans to spin off its Chinese business.
Despite KFC being the largest restaurant chain in China, with more than 4,500 locations, the country's economic slowdown and a number of scandals have hurt sales and may have led to the decision for the split.
Yum Brands has not responded to Business Insider's request for comment.
In response to the news, Yum Brands stock jumped and is trading up around 2.5% after being down for most of Wednesday.
