NPC Approved to Sell Pizza Hut, Wendy’s Outlets for $800 Million

(Bloomberg) -- Restaurant franchisee NPC International Inc. won court approval to sell more than 1,300 Pizza Hut and Wendy’s restaurants for about $800 million, six months after the coronavirus pandemic pushed the company into bankruptcy.

Under two deals approved Wednesday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, Flynn Restaurant Group will take over 951 Pizza Hut locations and nearly 200 Wendy’s stores, according to court filings. Wendy’s Co. will take over another 200 of its namesake restaurants and then turn them over to a group of its franchisees.

The agreements won the support of Pizza Hut and Wendy’s, which were involved in negotiating terms of the sales, attorneys for the two restaurant companies said in court. When NPC filed for bankruptcy last year, it operated more than 1,200 Pizza Hut locations and nearly 400 Wendy’s restaurants.

In November, NPC called off auctions for its Pizza Hut and Wendy’s restaurants because the offers were too low, an NPC lawyer said last month. Instead, the company entered into settlement talks that ultimately led to the current deal.

The case is NPC International Inc., 20-33353, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston). To view the docket on Bloomberg Law, click here.