The M&A History Of Yum Brands

Restaurant operator Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM expanded its portfolio with the $375-million acquisition of Habit Burger Grill this week.

Here's a look back at other notable M&A deals throughout Yum Brands' history, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC weren't always under Yum Bands' control. Beverage giant PepsiCo, Inc. PEP acquired the pizza joint in 1977, followed by the Tex-Mex chain in 1978 and the fried chicken chain in 1986.

PepsiCo decided to spin off its restaurant business into a new entity, Tricon Global Restaurants, in 1997. Tricon's portfolio included Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, and KFC, while other brands like Chevys Fresh Mex were sold off completely.

Fast forward to 2002: Tricon bought Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants parent company Yorkshire Global Restaurants. At that point, the company renamed itself to its current Yum Brands.

One year later Yum acquired Pasta Bravo, which was co-branded with several Pizza Hut locations. Taking a similar approach, Yum launched a quick-service chicken wing chain, WingStreet, which was also co-branded and paired with some Pizza Hut stores.

By 2011, Yum sold Long John Silver's and A&W to its franchisees.

In 2016, Yum spun off its Chinese business into a separate entity, Yum China Holdings Inc YUMC.

Most recently, Yum bought The Habit Burger Grill.

"As a fast-casual concept with strong unit economics, The Habit Burger Grill is a fantastic addition to the Yum! family and has significant untapped growth potential in the U.S. and internationally," Yum CEO David Gibbs said in a statement.

Related Links:

Taco Burgers? Yum Brands Buys Habit Restaurants For $375M

Taco Bell's Value Menu Is About To Get A Lot Beefier

Photo courtesy of The Habit Burger Grill.