Yum brands looking to acquire rest of Little Sheep chain

US-based Yum Brands (YUM.NYSE), parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, said it has made a preliminary offer to aquire most of the remaining shares of China’s Little Sheep (0968.HK) hot-pot chain, Reuters reported. Little Sheep has a market value of US$555 million derived from a network of 300 popular hot-pot restaurants throughout China, Japan, the US and Canada. Yum already owns 27.2% of Little Sheep’s stock through a prior investment, and said that it will allow strategic stakeholders including Little Sheep’s chairman to retain minority interests.