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Yum! Brands, the U.S.-based owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, has been left with ₺1 billion ($24 million) in unpaid debt after its former Turkish partner, Is Gida, went bankrupt, according to the Turkish media.
A Turkish commercial court ordered the liquidation of Is Gida this week after an eight-month concordat process, a court-supervised debt restructuring mechanism in Türkiye, formally recording liabilities of ₺4.4 billion.
In addition to the ₺1 billion owed to Yum! Brands, Is Gida also held debt of ₺541 million to a foreign-owned private bank.
Is Gida, part of Is Holding, applied for concordat protection in February after Yum! Brands terminated its franchise agreements in January, citing failure to meet quality standards across its KFC and Pizza Hut operations. The court initially granted temporary protection to allow the company time to restructure its debts, later extending this period until June 30 to allow creditors and management to reach an arrangement.
During this process, the company sought to negotiate with its creditors and keep some outlets operating, but the restructuring efforts did not succeed. A commissioner’s report issued on Sept. 23 determined that Is Gida was insolvent and unable to meet its financial obligations. Based on this finding, the commercial court moved to finalize the bankruptcy ruling, bringing the franchise operator’s attempts to recover to an end.
Meanwhile, a new franchise agreement was signed to relaunch KFC restaurants in Türkiye with local operator HD Holding, which aims to reopen and expand the network, with the first outlets expected by the end of 2025. The company is planning a phased rollout, with a focus on re-establishing the brand’s nationwide presence after the shutdown of hundreds of locations.
While this agreement paves the way for KFC’s return under new management, Pizza Hut has so far exited the Turkish market entirely after no replacement operator was found for its 254 closed outlets. The brand’s withdrawal marks the end of its operations in Türkiye, at least for now, leaving KFC as the only Yum! Brands chain set to resume activities in the country.
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