PLANO, Texas, and MADRID, Spain, May 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) and the world’s largest pizza restaurant company with nearly 17,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, and Telepizza Group (BME: TPZ), the largest non-U.S. pizza delivery company worldwide with more than 1,600 stores in over 20 countries, today announced a strategic deal and master franchise alliance to accelerate growth across Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain (including Andorra), Portugal and Switzerland.

The landmark deal doubles Pizza Hut’s footprint in the regions covered by the alliance; places Pizza Hut in the number one position in the category across Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of unit count; and confirms Pizza Hut’s position as the world’s largest pizza restaurant company. As a result of the alliance, Telepizza Group will become Pizza Hut’s largest master franchisee globally by unit count and a leading multi-country pizza operator worldwide.

“This ground-breaking deal is a major milestone in our journey to become the most loved, fastest growing pizza brand in the world, and Telepizza Group is the ideal partner with the capability, commitment and capital to accelerate Pizza Hut’s expansion into key high-growth regions like Latin America,” said Milind Pant, President, Pizza Hut International. “Geographically, this long-term, strategic alliance with Telepizza Group will make Pizza Hut accessible to more consumers over time, helping fulfill our mission of making it easier to get a better quality pizza.”

“Our alliance with Pizza Hut delivers on Telepizza Group’s strategic plan to transform pizza delivery with a management model grounded in improving the customer experience through best-in-class operations,” said Pablo Juantegui, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Telepizza Group. “The deal accelerates our global growth plan, nearly doubles the scale of our business and extends our international reach to 37 countries, which represent more than 500 million potential consumers. The aspirations and capabilities of Telepizza Group and Pizza Hut International are complementary, and we are confident this deal will drive significant value for customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders as it represents an ideal platform for future growth opportunities.”

“At Pizza Hut International, we’re focusing all of our innovation, technology investments and franchise alliances on delivering the easiest, fastest and tastiest pizza experience wherever we operate,” said Enrique Ramirez, Global Chief Growth Officer, Pizza Hut. “Telepizza Group is the ideal partner to help us deliver on this focus across Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, because of their incredible depth and capability in franchise operations and supply chain management. Leveraging the strong experience of our Pizza Hut franchisees, we expect this to accelerate the growth of Pizza Hut with a best-of-both approach.”

Highlights of the alliance include:

Spain and Portugal. In Spain, where Telepizza is the leading player, and in Portugal, Telepizza Group will continue operating the Telepizza brand, but it will also operate Pizza Hut stores and oversee Pizza Hut franchisees. Telepizza will leverage the best of Pizza Hut capabilities and well-known signature products.
Latin America (excluding Brazil) and the Caribbean. As master franchisee, Telepizza Group will oversee Pizza Hut franchisees who will continue to operate Pizza Hut stores in Latin America (excluding Brazil) and the Caribbean. Telepizza Group will also progressively convert its existing stores in this region to Pizza Huts and leverage Pizza Hut’s brand awareness to accelerate store network expansion and boost entry into key growth markets.
Unit Development Growth. Across the regions covered in the alliance, Telepizza Group will target opening at least 1,300 new stores over the next 10 years, and 2,550 stores total over 20 years. The vast majority of the new store openings will be Pizza Hut, including all stores in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Supply Chain: Telepizza Group will manage Pizza Hut’s supply chain in Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain (including Andorra), Portugal and Switzerland and will become an authorized supplier of Pizza Hut establishments. Both groups will explore further possibilities of collaboration in this field worldwide.
Completion of the alliance will be subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by Telepizza Group shareholders.

Impact to Telepizza

The alliance will nearly double Telepizza Group’s store portfolio to more than 2,500 units and €1.1 billion (1.3 Bn $) in system sales, making the company present in 37 countries with more than 500 million potential consumers. Telepizza Group will leverage its strong operational capabilities to crystallize the significant industrial synergies resulting from the combined platform, and will also benefit from its enlarged footprint to accelerate its international growth expansion. All this will be achieved without impacting Telepizza Group’s leverage profile nor its dividend policy and preserving Telepizza Group’s commitment with its current network of franchisees, targeting €100 million (120 M $) EBITDA by 2021.

Impact to Pizza Hut

This landmark deal moves Pizza Hut to the number one position in the category across Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of unit count. Across all the markets covered in the alliance, Telepizza Group will oversee nearly 1,000 Pizza Huts and contribute nearly 1,500 of its stores to Pizza Hut’s global unit count. Pizza Hut International franchisees in these regions will continue to operate their businesses, under the management of Telepizza as a Pizza Hut master franchisee. This strategic deal is a long-term initiative by Pizza Hut expected to result in accelerated unit development and operating profit growth on what will be a combined initial unit count of nearly 2,500 stores. The transaction is not expected to have a significant impact on Yum! Brands’ core operating results or cash flows over the next few years.

About Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), has more restaurant locations in the world than any other pizza company. Founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kan., Pizza Hut operates nearly 17,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com.

About Telepizza

Telepizza Group, headquartered in Madrid, operates in 23 countries with Telepizza and Jeno’s Pizza brands, among others, and celebrates 30 years with over 60 million of pizzas delivered worldwide. The Company manages a total network of 1,607 stores including 441 owned stores and 1,166 franchisees and master franchisees (as of 31 December, 2017) and is the leading player by number of stores in Spain, Portugal, Chile and Colombia. Total sales in its network, including own stores, franchisees and master franchisees, recorded as chain sales, amounted €561.6 million euro in the 12 months ended December 31, 2017. Telepizza Group is listed in the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges with its shares starting trading on April 27, 2016.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 45,000 restaurants in more than 135 countries and territories and is one of the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. In 2018, Yum! Brands was recognized as part of the inaugural Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. In 2017, Yum! Brands was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. The company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens over seven new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in global retail development.

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Milind Pant, President, Pizza Hut International and Pablo Juantegui Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Telepizza Group (PRNewsfoto/Telepizza)