Yum Brands agreed on Tuesday to sell Pizza Hut in two deals worth a combined $2.7 billion, splitting the chain between LongRange Capital and Yum China Holdings Inc. LongRange Capital is buying the business outside mainland China for about $1.5 billion, while Yum China is taking the mainland China operation for roughly $1.2 billion.

The sale puts a price on a chain that once sat at the center of Yum Brands’ portfolio but has increasingly looked like the brand the company no longer wanted to nurse back to health on its own. Pizza Hut has been dealing with outdated stores, growing competition and declining sales at comparable restaurants, and it has been looking to close 250 U.S. locations.

Chris Turner said Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth under LongRange and Yum China, arguing that both buyers bring deep restaurant experience. Yum Brands’ other major names are KFC and Taco Bell, and the Pizza Hut sale marks a clearer focus on those businesses as the company moves on from a chain it first picked up when PepsiCo acquired it in 1977.

That shift did not happen overnight. Yum Brands began a strategic review in November and said in February that it was considering a sale, a sign the company had already decided Pizza Hut needed a different owner. The deal also separates out mainland China, a business that often operates on its own terms, from the rest of the chain.

Neil Saunders said Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum’s portfolio, and the company’s willingness to sell after years of trying to steady the brand suggests it did not see a quick fix. Yum Brands said it expects both transactions to close in the third quarter, leaving LongRange Capital and Yum China to decide how much investment and patience Pizza Hut will get next.