LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The owner of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC restaurants is adding seafood and root beer floats to its corporate pantry of fast-food chains.
Tricon Global Restaurants announced Tuesday that it is buying Long John Silver's, the leader in fast-food seafood, and A&W All American Food Restaurants, which serves A&W root beer along with burgers and hot dogs, for $320 million in cash from Yorkshire Global Restaurants.
Tricon also announced Tuesday that it is proposing to change its corporate name to Yum! Brands Inc., which matches its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol YUM.
The name change will be submitted for shareholder approval in May.
Louisville-based Tricon has more than 30,000 restaurants worldwide that generated more than $22 billion in system sales last year. Privately held Yorkshire Global Restaurants, based in Lexington, Ky., was created in 1999 following the merger of Long John Silver's and A&W All American Food Restaurants. It had nearly $1.1 billion in system sales from 1,225 Long John Silver's and 970 A&W restaurants in 2001.
Long John Silver's is the largest fast-food seafood chain worldwide with $812 million in system sales. The A&W restaurant chain generates about $285 million in annual system sales.
The deal could expand Tricon's efforts to attract more customers by combining restaurant brands at the same site.
Tricon already has 1,500 multibranded restaurants worldwide, and company executives say the acquisition of Long John Silver's and A&W will give fast-food consumers more choices.
Tricon has already had a business relationship with Yorkshire, opening 83 KFC-A&W combinations, six KFC-Long John Silver's and three Taco Bell-Long John Silver's combinations since 2000.
"Customers simply love the choice and convenience these combination restaurants offer," said Tricon chairman and chief executive David Novak.