It’s a long way from Louisville to the green pastures of Inner Mongolia. But it looks like Hong Kong-listed Little Sheep – the Chinese hotpot chain and mutton producer – is about to become a full member of the US-based Yum stable, best known for Kentucky Fried Chicken.
With the mooted purchase of Little Sheep, Yum’s reincarnation as an American company with increasingly Chinese characteristics reaches a new stage.
Yum Brands – which also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell marques – reported solid earnings last week, thanks almost entirely to punchy growth in China. Sales there jumped 18 per cent in the quarter, while China made up 54 per cent of operating profits.