As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 24, 2016
File No. 001-37762
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Amendment No. 1
to
Form 10
GENERAL FORM FOR REGISTRATION OF SECURITIES
Pursuant to Section 12(b) or (g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Yum! China Holding, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
81-2421743 (I.R.S. employer identification number) |
|
1441 Gardiner Lane Louisville, Kentucky (Address of principal executive offices) |
40213 (Zip code) |
(888) 298-6986
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class to be so registered | Name of each exchange on which each class is to be registered |
|
---|---|---|
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | [·] |
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer o | Accelerated filer o | Non-accelerated filer ý (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
Smaller reporting company o |
YUM! CHINA HOLDING, INC.
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT
CROSS-REFERENCE SHEET BETWEEN INFORMATION STATEMENT
AND ITEMS OF FORM 10
This Registration Statement on Form 10 incorporates by reference information contained in the Information Statement filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1. The cross-reference sheet below identifies where the items required by Form 10 can be found in the Information Statement.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Information Statement Summary," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," "Business," "Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions," "The Separation and Distribution" and "Where You Can Find More Information" Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "Risk Factors" That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 2. Financial Information.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Statements," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "BusinessProperties." That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 4. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management." That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 5. Directors and Executive Officers.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "Management of the Company." That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 6. Executive Compensation.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Executive Compensation," "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" and "Management of the CompanyCompensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation." Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Management of the Company" and "Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions." Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "BusinessLegal Proceedings." That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9. Market Price of and Dividends on the Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Dividend Policy," "Capitalization," "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management," "The Separation and DistributionMarket for the Company's Common Stock" and "Description of Capital Stock." Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 10. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "Description of Capital StockSale of Unregistered Securities." That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 11. Description of Registrant's Securities to Be Registered.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Dividend Policy," "The Separation and Distribution" and "Description of Capital Stock." Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 12. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
The information required by this item is contained under the sections of the Information Statement entitled "Description of Capital StockLimitations on Liability, Indemnification of Officers and Directors and Insurance" and "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsThe Separation and Distribution AgreementIndemnification." Those sections are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 13. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "Index to Financial Information" and the financial statements referenced therein. That section is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 14. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 15. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
The information required by this item is contained under the section of the Information Statement entitled "Index to Financial Information" and the financial statements referenced therein. That section is incorporated herein by reference.
See below.
The following documents are filed as exhibits hereto:
Exhibit Number |
Exhibit Description | ||
---|---|---|---|
2.1 | Form of Separation and Distribution Agreement* | ||
3.1 |
Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Yum! China Holding, Inc.* |
||
3.2 |
Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Yum! China Holding, Inc.* |
||
4.1 |
Form of Rights Agreement between Yum! China Holding, Inc. and [·], as rights agent* |
||
4.2 |
Form of Certificate of Designations of Preferred Stock* |
||
10.1 |
Form of Master License Agreement* |
||
10.2 |
Form of Tax Matters Agreement* |
||
10.3 |
Form of Employee Matters Agreement* |
||
21.1 |
Subsidiaries of Yum! China Holding, Inc.* |
||
99.1 |
Information Statement of Yum! China Holding, Inc., preliminary and subject to completion, dated June 24, 2016** |
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
YUM! CHINA HOLDING, INC. | ||||||
By: |
/s/ MICKY PANT |
|||||
Name: | Micky Pant | |||||
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Date: June 24, 2016
Use these links to rapidly review the document
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INDEX TO FINANCIAL INFORMATION
[ · ], 2016
Dear Yum! Brands, Inc. Shareholder:
We are pleased to inform you of the separation of our world-class China business from Yum! Brands, Inc. ("Yum!") into a newly formed public company named Yum! China Holding, Inc. (the "Company").
We expect that the separation of the Company from Yum! will result in two powerful, best-in-class companies, each with a separate strategic focus. The Company, a market leader with decades of accumulated consumer loyalty and world-class operations in China, will become a licensee of Yum! in China with an attractive investment profile and significant opportunity for growth, while Yum!, one of the world's largest restaurant companies with three iconic brands, will focus on expanding the presence and performance of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell around the world outside of China. The separation reinforces our strong commitment to creating value for our shareholders.
The separation will be completed by way of a pro rata distribution of Company common stock to our shareholders of record as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on [ · ], the record date. Each Yum! shareholder will receive [ · ] shares of Company common stock for each share of Yum! common stock held on the record date.
We expect your receipt of shares of Company common stock in the distribution to be tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, except for cash received in lieu of fractional shares. You should consult your own tax advisor as to the particular tax consequences of the distribution to you, including potential tax consequences under state, local and non-U.S. tax laws.
The distribution does not require Yum! shareholder approval, nor do you need to take any action to receive your shares of Company common stock. Immediately following the separation, you will own common stock in Yum! and the Company. The Company's common stock will be listed on the [ · ] under the symbol "[ · ]," while Yum!'s common stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "YUM."
The enclosed Information Statement, which is being made available to all Yum! shareholders as of the record date for the distribution, describes the separation and distribution in detail and contains important information about the Company, including its business, financial condition and operations. We urge you to carefully read this Information Statement in its entirety.
Sincerely, | ||
Greg Creed Chief Executive Officer Yum! Brands, Inc. |
[ · ], 2016
Dear Future Yum! China Holding, Inc. Shareholder:
It is our pleasure to welcome you as a shareholder of our company, Yum! China Holding, Inc. (the "Company"). Following the distribution of shares of our common stock to shareholders of Yum! Brands, Inc. ("Yum"), we will be a newly-listed, publicly-traded business that is expected to be China's largest independent restaurant company.
The Company will initially have over 7,200 restaurants across China, one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies. Our relationship with Yum will allow us to leverage well-known brands and build on decades of experience in the Chinese market. The Company is well-positioned for future growth, with extensive opportunities to expand within China through new unit development.
We invite you to learn more about the Company by reviewing the enclosed Information Statement. We urge you to read the Information Statement carefully and in its entirety. We are excited by our future prospects, and look forward to your support as a holder of shares of the Company's common stock.
Sincerely, | ||
Micky Pant Chief Executive Officer Yum! China Holding, Inc. |
Information contained herein is subject to completion or amendment. A Registration Statement on Form 10 relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 24, 2016
INFORMATION STATEMENT
Yum! China Holding, Inc.
This Information Statement is being furnished to the shareholders of Yum! Brands, Inc. ("YUM") in connection with the distribution by YUM to its shareholders of all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Yum! China Holding, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of YUM, that will hold, directly or indirectly, the assets and liabilities associated with YUM's operations in China(1) (the "Company"). To implement the distribution, YUM will distribute all of the shares of Company common stock on a pro rata basis to YUM shareholders in a distribution that is intended to be tax-free to YUM shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Please refer to the "Presentation of Information" below for how we refer to Yum! Brands, Inc., YUM, Yum! China Holding, Inc. and the Company in this Information Statement.
You will receive [ · ] share[s] of Company common stock for each share of YUM common stock held of record by you as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on [ · ], 2016, the record date for the distribution. You will receive cash in lieu of any fractional shares of Company common stock that you would otherwise have received after application of the above distribution ratio. As discussed herein under "The Separation and DistributionTrading Between the Record Date and Distribution Date," if you sell your shares of YUM common stock "regular-way" after the record date and before the distribution, you will also be selling your right to receive shares of Company common stock in connection with the separation. We expect that shares of Company common stock will be distributed by YUM to you on [ · ], 2016. We refer to the date on which YUM commences distribution of the Company common stock to the holders of shares of YUM common stock as the "distribution date."
No vote of YUM shareholders is required for the distribution. Therefore, you are not being asked for a proxy, and you are requested not to send YUM a proxy, in connection with the distribution. You do not need to pay any consideration, exchange or surrender your existing YUM shares or take any other action to receive your shares of Company common stock.
There is currently no trading market for Company common stock, although we expect that a limited market, commonly known as a "when-issued" trading market, will develop on or shortly before the record date for the distribution. We expect "regular-way" trading of Company common stock to begin on the first trading day following the distribution. The Company intends to file an application to have its common stock authorized for listing on the [ · ] (the "[ · ]") under the symbol "[ · ]." Following the distribution, YUM will continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol "YUM."
In reviewing this Information Statement, you should carefully consider the matters described under the caption "Risk Factors" beginning on page 11.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Information Statement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This Information Statement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.
The date of this Information Statement is [ · ], 2016.
This Information Statement was first made available to YUM shareholders on or about [ · ], 2016.
ii
Except as otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, the information included in this Information Statement about the Company assumes the completion of all of the transactions referred to in this Information Statement in connection with the separation and distribution. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Information Statement to "the Company," "we," "us," "our," "our company" and "the company" refer to Yum! China Holding, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries. References to the Company's historical business and operations refer to all of YUM's China business which will be transferred to the Company in connection with the separation and distribution. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Information Statement to "YUM" refer to Yum! Brands, Inc., a North Carolina corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries other than the Company, which will continue to operate as YUM following the distribution and separation. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to "China" mean the "People's Republic of China" or "mainland China," excluding Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
Trademarks, Trade Names, Service Marks and Restaurants
The Company owns or has rights to use the trademarks, service marks and trade names that it uses in conjunction with the operation of its business. Some of the more important trademarks that the Company owns or has rights to use that appear in this Information Statement include: "KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, Taco Bell, Little Sheep and East Dawning," which may be registered or trademarked in the United States or other jurisdictions. Each trademark, trade name or service mark of any other company appearing in this Information Statement is, to our knowledge, owned by such other company. We license the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands and related intellectual property under a master license agreement with YUM and, unless the context otherwise requires, references herein to "our" or "the Company's" brands or other intellectual property rights include references to the brands and other intellectual property rights we license from YUM. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to "our" or "the Company's" restaurants or restaurant system include references to restaurants owned or franchised by us and references to "YUM's" restaurants or restaurant systems include restaurants owned or franchised by YUM (excluding our restaurants).
Although we are responsible for all of the disclosure contained in this Information Statement, this Information Statement contains industry, market and competitive position data that are based on industry publications and studies conducted by third parties. The industry publications and third-party studies generally state that the information that they contain has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable.
iii
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE SEPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION
What is Yum! China Holding, Inc. and why is YUM separating the Company's business and distributing Company stock? |
Yum! China Holding, Inc., which is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of YUM, was formed to own and operate YUM's China business. The separation of the Company from YUM and the distribution of Company common stock are intended to provide you with equity ownership in two separate, publicly traded companies that will be able to focus exclusively on each of their respective businesses. YUM and the Company expect that the separation will result in enhanced long-term performance of each business for the reasons discussed in the section entitled "The Separation and DistributionReasons for the Separation." | |
Why am I receiving this document? |
YUM is delivering this document to you because you are a holder of YUM common stock. Each holder of YUM common stock as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date will be entitled to receive [·] share[s] of Company common stock for each share of YUM common stock held at such time on such date. This document will help you understand how the separation and distribution will affect your post-separation ownership in YUM and the Company, respectively. |
|
How will the separation of the Company from YUM work? |
To accomplish the separation, YUM will distribute all of the outstanding shares of Company common stock to YUM shareholders on a pro rata basis in a distribution intended to be tax-free to YUM shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes except to the extent of any cash received in lieu of fractional shares of Company common stock. |
|
Why is the separation of the Company structured as a distribution? |
YUM believes that a distribution of the shares of Company common stock to YUM shareholders is an efficient way to separate its China business in a manner that will create long-term value for YUM and its shareholders. |
|
What is the record date for the distribution? |
The record date for the distribution is [·], 2016. |
|
When will the separation and the distribution occur? |
It is expected that all of the shares of Company common stock will be distributed by YUM on [·], 2016 to holders of record of shares of YUM common stock as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date for the distribution. The separation will become effective at the time of the distribution. However, no assurance can be provided as to the timing of the separation and the distribution or that all conditions to the distribution will be met. See "The Separation and DistributionConditions to the Distribution." |
iv
What do shareholders need to do to participate in the distribution? |
Shareholders of YUM as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date for the distribution will not be required to take any action to receive Company common stock in the distribution, but you are urged to read this entire Information Statement carefully. No shareholder approval of the distribution is required. You are not being asked for a proxy. You do not need to pay any consideration, exchange or surrender your existing shares of YUM common stock or take any other action to receive your shares of Company common stock. Please do not send in your YUM stock certificates. The distribution will not affect the number of outstanding YUM shares or any rights of YUM shareholders, although it will affect the market value of each outstanding share of YUM common stock. |
|
How will shares of Company common stock be issued? |
You will receive shares of Company common stock through the same channels that you currently use to hold or trade shares of YUM common stock, whether through a brokerage account, 401(k) plan or other channel. Receipt of shares of Company common stock will be documented for you in the same manner that you typically receive shareholder updates, such as monthly broker statements and 401(k) statements. |
|
|
If you own shares of YUM common stock as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date for the distribution, YUM, with the assistance of [·], the settlement and distribution agent, will electronically distribute shares of Company common stock to you or to your brokerage firm on your behalf in book-entry form. [·] will mail you a book-entry account statement that reflects your shares of Company common stock, or your bank or brokerage firm will credit your account for the shares. |
|
How many shares of Company common stock will I receive in the distribution? |
YUM will distribute to you [·] share[s] of Company common stock for every share of YUM common stock held by you as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date for the distribution. Based on the number of shares of YUM common stock outstanding as of [·], 2016, a total of approximately [·] shares of Company common stock are expected to be distributed. For additional information on the distribution, see "The Separation and Distribution." |
v
Will the Company issue fractional shares of its common stock in the distribution? |
No. The Company will not issue fractional shares of its common stock in the distribution. Fractional shares that YUM shareholders would otherwise have been entitled to receive will be aggregated and sold in the public market by the distribution agent. The aggregate net cash proceeds of these sales will be distributed pro rata (based on the fractional shares such holder would otherwise have been entitled to receive) to those shareholders who would otherwise have been entitled to receive fractional shares. Recipients of cash in lieu of fractional shares will not be entitled to any interest on the amounts of payments made in lieu of fractional shares. The receipt of cash in lieu of fractional shares generally will be taxable, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to the recipient YUM shareholders. See "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences." |
|
What are the conditions to the distribution? |
The distribution is subject to final approval by the board of directors of YUM, as well as to a number of conditions, including: |
|
|
the transfer of assets and liabilities to the Company in accordance with the separation and distribution agreement will have been completed, other than assets and liabilities intended to be transferred after the distribution; |
|
|
YUM will have received (i) an opinion of each of Mayer Brown LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, satisfactory to YUM's board of directors, regarding the qualification of the distribution as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 361 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), and (ii) one or more opinions of YUM's external tax advisors, in each case satisfactory to YUM's board of directors, regarding certain other tax matters relating to the distribution and related transactions; |
|
|
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") will have declared effective the registration statement of which this Information Statement forms a part, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement will be in effect and no proceedings for such purpose will be pending before or threatened by the SEC; |
|
|
this Information Statement shall have been made available to the YUM shareholders; |
|
|
all actions or filings necessary or appropriate under applicable U.S. federal, U.S. state or other securities laws will have been taken and, where applicable, have become effective or been accepted by the applicable governmental entity; |
vi
|
any approvals of any governmental entities required for the consummation of the separation and distribution will have been obtained; |
|
|
no order, injunction or decree issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition preventing the consummation of the separation, the distribution or any of the related transactions will be in effect; |
|
|
the shares of Company common stock to be distributed will have been approved for listing on the [·], subject to official notice of issuance; |
|
|
the receipt of an opinion from an independent advisory firm confirming the solvency and financial viability of each of the Company and YUM after the distribution that is in form and substance acceptable to YUM in its sole discretion; and |
|
|
no other event or development will have occurred or exist that, in the judgment of YUM's board of directors, in its sole discretion, makes it inadvisable to effect the separation, the distribution or the other related transactions. |
|
|
YUM and the Company cannot assure you that any or all of these conditions will be met and YUM may also waive any of the conditions to the distribution. For a complete discussion of all of the conditions to the distribution, see "The Separation and DistributionConditions to the Distribution." |
|
What is the anticipated cost of the Separation? |
We estimate that the one-time costs of the separation will be approximately $60 million, and we anticipate that substantially all of such one-time costs will be borne by YUM. Following the separation, in general, YUM and the Company will be responsible for the costs incurred by YUM or the Company, as applicable (which, in the case of the Company, will include costs incurred in connection with the transition to being an independent public company). |
|
How will the one-time costs of the separation be allocated between YUM and the Company? |
We anticipate that substantially all of the one-time costs of the separation will be borne by YUM. |
|
Can YUM decide to cancel the distribution of the Company common stock even if all the conditions have been met? |
Yes. Until the distribution has occurred, YUM has the right to terminate the distribution, even if all of the conditions are satisfied. See "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsThe Separation and Distribution AgreementTermination." |
vii
What if I want to sell my YUM common stock or my Company common stock? |
You should consult with your financial advisors, such as your stockbroker, bank or tax advisor. |
|
What is "regular-way" and "ex-distribution" trading of YUM stock? |
Beginning on or shortly before the record date for the distribution and continuing up to and through the distribution date, it is expected that there will be two markets in YUM common stock: a "regular-way" market and an "ex-distribution" market. Shares of YUM common stock that trade in the "regular-way" market will trade with an entitlement to shares of Company common stock distributed pursuant to the distribution. Shares that trade in the "ex-distribution" market will trade without an entitlement to shares of Company common stock distributed pursuant to the distribution. If you hold shares of YUM common stock as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date and then decide to sell any shares of YUM common stock before the distribution date, you should make sure your stockbroker, bank or other nominee understands whether you want to sell your shares of YUM common stock with or without your entitlement to shares of Company common stock distributed pursuant to the distribution. |
|
Where will I be able to trade shares of Company common stock? |
The Company intends to file an application to list its common stock on the [·] under the symbol "[·]." The Company anticipates that trading in shares of its common stock will begin on a "when-issued" basis on or shortly before the record date for the distribution and will continue up to the distribution date, and that "regular-way" trading in Company common stock will begin on the first trading day following the distribution. If trading begins on a "when-issued" basis, you may purchase or sell Company common stock up to the distribution date, but your transaction will not settle until after the distribution date. The Company cannot predict the trading prices for its common stock before, on or after the distribution date. |
|
What will happen to the listing of shares of YUM common stock? |
YUM common stock will continue to trade on the NYSE after the distribution under the symbol "YUM." |
|
Will the number of shares of YUM common stock that I own change as a result of the distribution? |
No. The number of shares of YUM common stock that you own will not change as a result of the distribution. |
viii
Will the distribution affect the market price of shares of my YUM common stock? |
Yes. As a result of the distribution, it is expected that the trading price of shares of YUM common stock immediately following the distribution will be lower than the "regular-way" trading price of such shares immediately prior to the distribution because the trading price will no longer reflect the value of the China business to be held by the Company. The combined trading prices of one share of YUM common stock and [·] share[s] of Company common stock after the distribution (representing the number of shares of Company common stock to be received per share of YUM common stock in the distribution) may be equal to, greater than or less than the trading price of one YUM common share before the distribution. |
|
What are the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the distribution? |
It is a condition to the distribution that YUM receive (i) an opinion of each of Mayer Brown LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, satisfactory to YUM's board of directors, regarding the qualification of the distribution as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 361 of the Code and (ii) one or more opinions of YUM's external tax advisors, in each case satisfactory to YUM's board of directors, regarding certain other tax matters relating to the distribution and related transactions. Assuming that the distribution qualifies as tax-free under Sections 355 and 361 of the Code, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, no gain or loss will be recognized by you, and no amount will be included in your income, upon the receipt of shares of Company common stock pursuant to the distribution. You will, however, recognize gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes with respect to cash received in lieu of a fractional share of Company common stock. |
|
|
You should consult your own tax advisor as to the particular consequences of the distribution to you, including the applicability and effect of any U.S. federal, state and local tax laws, as well as any foreign tax laws. For more information regarding the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the distribution, see the section entitled "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences." |
ix
What will the Company's relationship be with YUM following the separation? |
The Company will enter into a separation and distribution agreement with YUM to effect the separation and provide a framework for the Company's relationship with YUM after the separation. In addition, a subsidiary of the Company will enter into a master license agreement with a subsidiary of YUM providing the exclusive right to use and sublicense the use of intellectual property owned by YUM and its affiliates for the development and operation of KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, and Taco Bell restaurants in China, and for the conduct of all related development, promotional and support activities. The Company and YUM will also enter into certain other agreements, including, among others, a tax matters agreement and an employee matters agreement. These agreements will provide for the allocation between the Company and YUM of YUM's assets, employees, liabilities and obligations (including its investments, property and employee benefits and tax-related assets and liabilities) attributable to periods prior to, at and after the separation and will govern certain relationships between the Company and YUM after the separation. For additional information regarding the separation and distribution agreement and other transaction agreements, see the sections entitled "Risk FactorsRisks Related to the Separation" and "Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions." |
|
Who will manage the Company after the separation? |
The Company will benefit from a management team with an extensive background in the China business. Led by Micky Pant, who will be the Company's Chief Executive Officer after the separation, the Company's management team will possess deep knowledge of, and extensive experience in, its business, geography and industry. For more information regarding the Company's management, see "Management of the Company." |
|
Are there risks associated with owning Company common stock? |
Yes. Ownership of Company common stock will be subject to both general and specific risks, including those relating to the Company's business, the industry and geography in which it operates, its separation from YUM and ongoing contractual relationships with YUM and its status as a separate, publicly traded company. These risks are described in the "Risk Factors" section of this Information Statement. You are encouraged to read that section carefully. |
x
Does the Company plan to pay dividends? |
We anticipate that following the separation, our board of directors will adopt a program of returning capital to shareholders, which may take the form of establishing a regular dividend and/or engaging in share repurchases. However, we also intend to retain a significant portion of our earnings to finance the operation, development and growth of our business. Any future determination to declare and pay cash dividends or engage in share repurchases will be at the discretion of our board of directors following the separation and will depend on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, actual or anticipated cash requirements, contractual or regulatory restrictions, tax considerations and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. See "Dividend Policy." |
|
Will the Company incur any indebtedness prior to or at the time of the distribution? |
No. The Company does not plan to incur any indebtedness in connection with the distribution, other than indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of its operations. |
|
Who will be the distribution agent, transfer agent, registrar and information agent for the Company common stock? |
The distribution agent, transfer agent, registrar and information agent for Company common stock has not yet been determined. |
|
Where can I find more information about YUM and the Company? |
Before the distribution, if you have any questions relating to YUM's China business, you should contact: |
|
|
Yum! Brands, Inc. |
|
|
After the distribution, Company shareholders who have any questions relating to the Company should contact the Company at: |
|
|
Yum! China Holding, Inc. |
xi
The following is a summary of certain material information discussed in this Information Statement. This summary may not contain all of the details concerning the separation or other information that may be important to you. To better understand the separation and the Company's business and financial position, you should carefully review this entire Information Statement.
This Information Statement describes the China business of YUM to be transferred to the Company by YUM in the separation as if the transferred business were the Company's business for all historical periods described. References in this Information Statement to the Company's historical assets, liabilities, products, business or activities are generally intended to refer to the assets, liabilities, products, business or activities of the China business of YUM prior to the distribution.
Our Company
Yum! China Holding, Inc. is the largest restaurant company in China with approximately 7,200 restaurants, $6.9 billion of revenue, net income of $323 million and $998 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2015. Our growing restaurant base consists of China's leading restaurant brands, including KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, East Dawning and Little Sheep. Following our separation from Yum! Brands, we will have the exclusive right to operate and sub-license the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in China, and will own the East Dawning and Little Sheep concepts outright. We were the first major global restaurant brand to enter China in 1987 and have developed deep experience operating in the market. We have since grown to become one of China's largest retail developers covering over 1,100 cities and opening an average of two new locations per day over the past five years.
KFC is the leading Quick-Service Restaurant ("QSR") brand in China. Today, KFC operates over 5,000 restaurants in over 1,100 cities across China. Measured by number of restaurants, KFC has a two-to-one lead over the nearest Western QSR competitor and continues to grow in both large and small cities. Similarly, Pizza Hut Casual Dining is the leading Casual Dining Restaurant ("CDR") brand in China. Today, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, with nearly 1,600 restaurants in over 400 cities, has a seven-to-one lead in terms of restaurants over its nearest Western CDR competitor.
Over the past three decades, we have built a significant lead not just in number of restaurants, but also in brand awareness and loyalty, proprietary consumer know-how in individual provinces and city tiers, a national supply-chain network, product innovation and quality processes, a motivated and highly-educated workforce and a long-tenured and passionate local management team. We believe that these competitive strengths are difficult to replicate.
We generate strong consumer regard and loyalty by developing menus that cater to local tastes in addition to offering global favorites like KFC's Original Recipe chicken. Each of our brands has proprietary menu items, many developed in China, and emphasizes the preparation of food with high-quality ingredients, as well as unique recipes and special seasonings to provide appealing, tasty and convenient food at competitive prices. Most of our restaurants offer consumers the ability to dine in and/or order delivery or carry-out food. With decades of accumulated consumer know-how and loyalty in China, we believe our brands are integrated into Chinese popular culture and consumers' daily lives based on our extensive history in China and substantial presence there.
We opened nearly 750 new restaurants in 2015 and more than 3,000 over the past four yearsthe equivalent of two new restaurant openings per day. While we may either operate, franchise and/or license restaurant brands, we currently have ownership in and operate approximately 90% of our restaurants, and this high ownership percentage has driven our historically attractive return on investment.
1
Given the strong competitive position of the KFC and Pizza Hut brands, China's growing economy and population of over 1.3 billion, we expect to continue growing our system sales by adding KFC and Pizza Hut Casual Dining restaurants and through growing same-store sales.
Industry Backdrop
The development and growth of our restaurants has benefited from China's rapidly growing middle class and increasing urbanization. Although changes in consumer taste are possible, the expansion of China's middle class has generally been correlated with an increase in eating outside of the home, which is in part driven by higher discretionary income associated with this demographic group. According to a 2012 McKinsey study, between 2002 and 2022 the number of middle class and affluent households is expected to increase by 283 million. A significant portion of this growth will be driven by upper middle class households, which are expected to increase from 2% of total households in 2002 to 54% by 2022, or an increase of 188 million households. The Company will continue to focus on this core consumer segment and on serving China's growing middle class.
According to the McKinsey study referenced above, in 2002 87% of the middle class lived in coastal China and only 13% of the middle class lived in inland provinces. By 2022 it is expected that only 61% of the middle class will live in coastal cities as the middle class expands more rapidly in inland cities. Likewise, according to the same study, by 2022 it is expected that 39% of the middle class will live in cities with a population of more than one million. This is consistent with the Company's development plans which have focused on entering new trade zones and building new restaurants further inland.
Restaurant Concepts
KFC
KFC is the largest restaurant brand in China in terms of system sales and number of restaurants. Founded in Corbin, Kentucky by Colonel Harland D. Sanders in 1939, KFC opened its first restaurant in Beijing, China in 1987. Today, almost 30 years later, there are over 5,000 KFCs in China, and the Company plans to continue adding new units. In addition to Original Recipe chicken, KFC in China has an extensive menu featuring pork, beef, seafood, rice dishes, fresh vegetables, soups, breakfast, desserts, and many other products, including premium coffee. The KFC brand is also seeking to increase revenues from its restaurants throughout the day with breakfast, delivery and 24-hour operations in many of its locations.
Pizza Hut Casual Dining
Pizza Hut Casual Dining is the largest Western CDR brand in China as measured by system sales and number of restaurants. It operates in over 400 cities and offers multiple dayparts, including breakfast and afternoon tea. The first Pizza Hut in China opened in 1990, and as of 2015 year-end there were nearly 1,600 Pizza Hut Casual Dining restaurants. Pizza Hut Casual Dining has an extensive menu offering a broad variety of pizzas, entrees, pasta, rice dishes, appetizers, beverages and desserts. In 2015, Pizza Hut Casual Dining was ranked the "Most Preferred Western Casual Dining Restaurant" by The Nielsen Corporation.
Other Concepts
Pizza Hut Home Service. The Company introduced pizza delivery to China in 2001, and today there are over 300 Pizza Hut Home Service units in nearly 50 cities, specializing in professional and convenient delivery of Chinese food as well as pizza. Over 70% of the brand's orders come through online or mobile channels. Its professional service and diverse menu provide a strong platform for continued growth in the future.
2
Little Sheep. A casual-dining brand with its roots in Inner Mongolia, China, Little Sheep specializes in "Hot Pot" cooking, which is very popular in China particularly during the winter months. Little Sheep has approximately 250 units in both China and international markets today. Of these, over 200 units are franchised.
East Dawning. East Dawning is a Chinese food quick-service restaurant brand, primarily located in large coastal cities. There were 15 restaurants as of 2015 year end. This brand is not viewed as a significant growth engine for the Company.
Taco Bell. Taco Bell is the world's leading QSR brand specializing in Mexican-style food, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads, nachos and similar items. While there are over 6,400 Taco Bell units globally, currently no locations exist in China. The Company plans to open its first Taco Bell restaurant in 2016.
Competitive Strengths
We believe the following strengths, developed over our almost 30-year operating history, differentiate us and serve as a platform for future growth.
Our Strategies
The Company's primary strategy is to grow sales and profits across its portfolio of brands through increased brand relevance, new store development and enhanced unit economics. Other areas of investment include store remodels; product innovation and quality; improved operating platforms leading to improved service; store-level human resources, including recruiting and training; creative marketing programs; and product testing.
New-Unit Growth
Rapidly growing consumer class. Given the rapidly expanding middle class, we believe that there is significant opportunity to expand within China, and we intend to focus our efforts on increasing our geographic footprint in both existing and new markets. We expanded our restaurant count from 3,906 units in 2010 to approximately 7,200 as of the end of 2015, representing a compounded annual growth rate ("CAGR") of 13%.
3
Franchise opportunity. Currently, only 9% of our restaurants are operated by franchisees. Going forward, we anticipate high franchisee demand for our brands, supported by strong unit economics, operational consistency and simplicity, and multiple store types to drive restaurant growth. While the franchise market in China is still in its early stages compared to developed markets, the Company plans to continue to increase its franchise-owned store percentage over time.
Development pipeline. We consider our development pipeline to be robust, and believe we have an opportunity to grow our restaurant count three times over the next two to three decades. For additional information on the risks associated with this growth strategy, see the section entitled "Risk Factors," including the risk factor entitled"We may not attain our target development goals, aggressive development could cannibalize existing sales and new restaurants may not be profitable." We also believe the opportunity to add Taco Bell restaurants as well as other concepts could further increase our total unit count.
Same-Store Sales Growth
Flavor innovation. We are keenly aware of the strength of our core menu items but we also seek to continue to introduce innovative items to meet evolving consumer preferences and local tastes, while simultaneously maintaining brand relevance and broadening brand appeal. For example, KFC offers soy bean milk, fried dough sticks, and congee for breakfast. Outside of breakfast, KFC has introduced rice dishes, Peking style chicken twisters, roasted chicken products, egg tarts and fresh lemon/calamansi tea.
Daypart opportunities. We believe there are significant daypart opportunities across our brands. For example, at KFC we recently introduced premium coffee to expand our breakfast and afternoon dayparts. Pizza Hut Casual Dining has focused on breakfast and afternoon tea to further grow same-store sales.
Customer frequency through mobile connectivity. KFC is rolling out its K-Gold loyalty program in 2016 with the eventual goal of a fully digitized customer experience. The brand will also improve the customer experience through ease of ordering and speed of service, supported by innovative technology. Pizza Hut Casual Dining is a leader in providing a digital experience with free in-store Wi-Fi, queue ticketing and pre-ordering, partnering with Alipay and WeChat to receive cashless payments, and introducing a loyalty program.
Best in-store experience. The Company continuously looks for ways to improve the customer experience. For example, starting in 2015, KFC revamped its remodel strategy to accelerate restaurant upgrades. Pizza Hut Casual Dining is also well regarded for offering consumers a contemporary casual dining setting. Our brands also look to improve efficiency to drives sales growth. For example, we are simplifying menu boards and fine-tuning our digital menu boards and in-store self-service order devices. We are also exploring expansion of our delivery business through online-to-offline, or O2O, aggregators.
Value innovation. KFC will continue to focus on value with product offerings such as the bucket and increased combo options throughout the day. Pizza Hut Casual Dining will leverage past innovations like business lunch set and breakfast.
O2O and home delivery. China is a world leader in the emerging online-to-offline or O2O market. This is where digital online ordering technologies interact with traditional brick and mortar retail to enhance the shopping experience. In the restaurant sector, KFC and Pizza Hut Home Service are already leading brands in home delivery. We see considerable further growth potential in the rapidly growing in-home consumption market by aligning our proven restaurant operation capabilities with emerging specialized O2O firms (known as aggregators) that offer consumers the ability to order any
4
restaurant food at home. This could be an exciting new business opportunity with potential to create substantial shareholder value.
Enhanced Profitability
We focus on improving our unit-level economics and overall profits while also making the necessary investments to support our future growth. Since we increased our focus on restaurant margin improvement in late 2013, restaurant margins at KFC improved two percentage points from 2013 to 2015. We will pursue additional opportunities to improve profits over the long-term by continuing our focus on fiscal discipline and leveraging fixed costs, while maintaining the quality customer experience for which our brands are known.
The Separation and Distribution
On October 20, 2015, YUM announced that it intended to separate into two publicly traded companies: one comprising YUM's world-class operations in China, which will do business as " , and one that will comprise YUM's remaining operations (including franchising) around the world, which will continue to do business as YUM and retain YUM's current logo.
On [ · ], 2016, YUM's board of directors approved the distribution of all of the Company's issued and outstanding shares of common stock on the basis of [ · ] share[s] of Company common stock for each share of YUM common stock held as of 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on [ · ], 2016, the record date for the distribution.
The Company's Post-Separation Relationship with YUM
After the distribution, YUM and the Company will be separate companies with separate management teams and separate boards of directors. The Company will enter into a separation and distribution agreement with YUM, which is referred to in this Information Statement as the "separation and distribution agreement." In addition, a subsidiary of the Company will enter into a master license agreement with a subsidiary of YUM providing the exclusive right to use and sublicense the use of intellectual property owned by YUM and its affiliates for the development and operation of KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, and Taco Bell restaurants in China and for the conduct of all related development, promotional and support activities. In connection with the separation, the Company will also enter into various other agreements to effect the separation and provide a framework for its relationship with YUM after the separation, such as a tax matters agreement and an employee matters agreement. These agreements will provide for the allocation between the Company and YUM of YUM's assets, employees, liabilities and obligations (including its investments, property and employee benefits and tax-related assets and liabilities) attributable to periods prior to, at and after the separation of the Company from YUM and will govern certain relationships between the Company and YUM after the separation. For additional information regarding the separation and distribution agreement and other transaction agreements, see the sections entitled "Risk FactorsRisks Related to the Separation" and "Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions."
Reasons for the Separation
YUM's board of directors and management believe that the creation of two independent public companies, with the Company operating the China business, and YUM operating its remaining businesses (including franchising) throughout the rest of the world, is in the best interests of YUM and its shareholders for a number of reasons, including:
5
the management of each company to concentrate efforts on the unique needs of each business and pursue distinct opportunities for long-term growth and profitability. Specifically, YUM will pursue its strategy of developing its brands and expanding its franchise operations globally outside of China and expects to own less than 4% of the restaurants within its system by the end of 2017. The Company, on the other hand, will pursue its strategy of owning and operating restaurants in China and plans to own and operate a substantial majority of its restaurants in China;
Neither the Company nor YUM can assure you that, following the separation, any of the benefits described above or otherwise will be realized to the extent anticipated or at all.
Risks Associated with the Company and the Separation
The YUM board of directors also considered a number of potentially negative factors in evaluating the creation of two independent public companies, including, among others, risks relating to the loss of benefits arising from YUM and the Company operating within one company and increased operating costs and one-time separation costs relating to the creation of a new public company, but concluded that the potential benefits from separation outweighed these factors. For more information, see the sections entitled "The Separation and DistributionReasons for the Separation" and "Risk Factors" included elsewhere in this Information Statement.
Risks Related to Our Business and the Separation and Distribution
An investment in Company common stock is subject to a number of risks, including risks relating to our business and the separation and distribution. The following list of certain significant risk factors is a high-level summary and is not exhaustive. Please read the information in the section captioned "Risk Factors" for a more thorough description of these and other risks.
6
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Risks Related to the Separation
7
liabilities, and, in certain circumstances, the Company could be required to indemnify YUM for material taxes and other related amounts pursuant to indemnification obligations under the tax matters agreement.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Corporate Information
The Company was incorporated in Delaware on April 1, 2016 for the purpose of holding YUM's China business in connection with the separation and distribution. Until the business is transferred to us in connection with the separation, we will have no operations. The address of our principal executive offices is [ · ]. Our telephone number is [ · ].
The Company maintains an Internet site at [ · ]. The Company's website, and the information contained therein, or connected thereto, is not incorporated by reference into this Information Statement or the registration statement of which this Information Statement forms a part.
Reason for Furnishing This Information Statement
This Information Statement is being furnished solely to provide information to shareholders of YUM who will receive shares of Company common stock in the distribution. It is not, and is not to be construed as, an inducement or encouragement to buy or sell any of the Company's securities. The information contained in this Information Statement is believed by the Company to be accurate as of the date set forth on its cover. Changes may occur after that date, and neither YUM nor the Company will update the information except in the normal course of their respective disclosure obligations and practices or as otherwise required by law.
8
SUMMARY SELECTED HISTORICAL AND UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The following table presents the summary selected historical and unaudited pro forma combined financial information of the Company. The selected historical combined financial data includes all revenues, costs, assets and liabilities directly attributable to the Company and which have been used in managing and operating the Company business as part of YUM. We derived the combined statements of income data for the three years ended December 31, 2015, and the combined balance sheets data as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, as set forth below, from our audited combined financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Information Statement. We derived the combined balance sheet data as of December 31, 2013 from the Company's unaudited combined financial statements that are not included in this Information Statement.
The unaudited pro forma combined statement of income for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 reflects our results as if the separation and related transactions described below had occurred on January 1, 2015. The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2015 reflects our financial position as if the separation and related transactions described below had occurred as of such date. The assumptions used and pro forma adjustments derived from such assumptions are based on currently available information and we believe such assumptions are reasonable under the circumstances. Please see the notes to the unaudited pro forma combined financial statements included elsewhere in this Information Statement for a discussion of adjustments reflected in the unaudited pro forma combined financial statements.
The unaudited pro forma combined financial information presented below is not necessarily indicative of our results of operations or financial condition had the separation and distribution and our anticipated post-separation capital structure been completed on the dates assumed. Also, they may not reflect the results of operations or financial condition that would have resulted had we been operating as an independent, publicly traded company during such periods. In addition, they are not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations or financial condition.
You should read this summary financial and operating data together with "Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Statements," "Capitalization," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the combined financial statements included elsewhere in this Information Statement. Among other things,
9
the combined financial statements included in this Information Statement include more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation for the information in the following table.
|
|
Historical for the Fiscal Years Ended | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Dollars in millions, except per share data) |
Pro Forma for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2015 |
December 31, 2015 |
December 31, 2014 |
December 31, 2013 |
|||||||||
Combined Statements of Income (Loss) Data: |
|||||||||||||
Revenues |
(Unaudited | ) | |||||||||||
Company sales |
6,789 | 6,821 | 6,800 | ||||||||||
Franchise fees and income |
120 | 113 | 105 | ||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total revenues |
| 6,909 | 6,934 | 6,905 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Costs and Expenses, Net |
|||||||||||||
Company restaurants |
|||||||||||||
Food and paper |
2,159 | 2,207 | 2,258 | ||||||||||
Payroll and employee benefits |
1,386 | 1,407 | 1,360 | ||||||||||
Occupancy and other operating expenses |
2,386 | 2,415 | 2,347 | ||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Company restaurant expenses |
| 5,931 | 6,029 | 5,965 | |||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
395 | 389 | 356 | ||||||||||
Franchise expenses |
70 | 64 | 60 | ||||||||||
Closures and impairment expenses, net |
64 | 517 | 325 | ||||||||||
Refranchising gain, net |
(13 | ) | (17 | ) | (5 | ) | |||||||
Other income, net |
(26 | ) | (51 | ) | (25 | ) | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total costs and expenses, net |
| 6,421 | 6,931 | 6,676 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Operating Profit(a) |
| 488 | 3 | 229 | |||||||||
Interest income, net |
8 |
14 |
5 |
||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Income Before Income Taxes |
| 496 | 17 | 234 | |||||||||
Income tax provision |
(168 |
) |
(54 |
) |
(135 |
) |
|||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net Income (loss)including noncontrolling interests |
| 328 | (37 | ) | 99 | ||||||||
Net Income (loss)noncontrolling interests |
5 | (30 | ) | (27 | ) | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net Income (loss)Yum! China Holding, Inc.(a) |
| 323 | (7 | ) | 126 | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Pro Forma net earnings per share: |
(Unaudited | ) | |||||||||||
Basic |
N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||
Diluted |
N/A | N/A | N/A |
Combined Balance Sheets Data |
(Unaudited | ) | |||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
425 | 238 | 300 | ||||||||||
Total assets |
3,201 | 3,257 | 3,750 |
10
You should carefully consider each of the following risks, which we believe are the principal risks that we face and of which we are currently aware, in addition to considering all of the other information in this Information Statement. The risk factors have been separated into four general groups: risks related to our business and industry, risks related to doing business in China, risks related to the separation and risks related to our common stock. Based on the information currently known to us, we believe that the following information identifies the most significant risk factors affecting our company in each of these categories of risk. However, the risks and uncertainties our company faces are not limited to those set forth in the risk factors described below. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. In addition, past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. If any of the following risks and uncertainties develops into actual events, these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Food safety and food-borne illness concerns may have an adverse effect on our business.
Food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli, hepatitis A, trichinosis and salmonella, occur or may occur within our system from time to time. In addition, food safety issues such as food tampering, contamination and adulteration occur or may occur within our system from time to time. Any report or publicity linking us, our competitors, our restaurants, including restaurants operated by us or our franchisees, or any of YUM's restaurants, to instances of food-borne illness or food safety issues could adversely affect our restaurants' brands and reputations as well as our revenues and profits and possibly lead to product liability claims, litigation and damages. If a customer of our restaurants becomes ill from food-borne illnesses or as a result of food safety issues, restaurants in our system may be temporarily closed, which would decrease our revenues. In addition, instances or allegations of food-borne illness or food safety issues, real or perceived, involving our or YUM's restaurants, restaurants of competitors, or suppliers or distributors (regardless of whether we use or have used those suppliers or distributors), or otherwise involving the types of food served at our restaurants, could result in negative publicity that could adversely affect our sales. The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, which could result in disruptions in our supply chain and/or lower margins for us and our franchisees.
Any failure to maintain effective quality control systems for our restaurants could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition.
The quality and safety of the food we serve is critical to our success. Maintaining consistent food quality depends significantly on the effectiveness of our and our franchisees' quality control systems, which in turn depends on a number of factors, including the design of our quality control systems and employee implementation and compliance with those quality control policies and guidelines. Our quality control systems consist of (i) supplier quality control, (ii) logistics quality control, (iii) food processing plants' quality control, and (iv) restaurant quality control. There can be no assurance that our and our franchisees' quality control systems will prove to be effective. Any significant failure or deterioration of these quality control systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition.
11
Any significant liability claims, food contamination complaints from our customers or reports of incidents of food tampering could adversely affect our reputation, business and operations.
Being in the restaurant industry, we face an inherent risk of food contamination and liability claims. Our food quality depends partly on the quality of the food ingredients and raw materials provided by our suppliers, and we may not be able to detect all defects in our supplies. Any food contamination occurring in raw materials at our suppliers' food processing plants or during the transportation from food processing plants to our restaurants that we fail to detect or prevent could adversely affect the quality of the food served in our restaurants. Due to the scale of our and our franchisees' operations, we also face the risk that certain of our and our franchisees' employees may not adhere to our mandated quality procedures and requirements. Any failure to detect defective food supplies, or observe proper hygiene, cleanliness and other quality control requirements or standards in our operations could adversely affect the quality of the food we offer at our restaurants, which could lead to liability claims, complaints and related adverse publicity, reduced customer traffic at our restaurants, the imposition of penalties against us or our franchisees by relevant authorities and compensation awards by courts. Our sales have been significantly impacted by adverse publicity relating to supplier actions over the past decade. For example, our sales and perception of our brands were significantly impacted following adverse publicity relating to the failure of certain upstream poultry suppliers to meet our standards in late 2012 as well as adverse publicity relating to improper food handling practices by a separate, small upstream supplier in mid-2014. There can be no assurance that similar incidents will not occur again in the future or that we will not receive any food contamination claims or defective products from our suppliers in the future. Any such incidents could materially harm our reputation, results of operations and financial condition.
Health concerns arising from outbreaks of viruses or other diseases may have an adverse effect on our business.
Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of a widespread health epidemic, such as avian flu, or H1N1, or "swine flu." The occurrence of such an outbreak of an epidemic illness or other adverse public health developments in China could materially disrupt our business and operations. Such events could also significantly impact our industry and cause a temporary closure of restaurants, which would severely disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operations could be disrupted if any of our employees or employees of our business partners were suspected of having the swine flu or avian flu, since this could require us or our business partners to quarantine some or all of such employees or disinfect our restaurant facilities. Outbreaks of avian flu occur from time to time around the world, including in China where our restaurants are located, and such outbreaks have resulted in confirmed human cases. It is possible that outbreaks in China and elsewhere could reach pandemic levels. Public concern over avian flu generally may cause fear about the consumption of chicken, eggs and other products derived from poultry, which could cause customers to consume less poultry and related products. This would likely result in lower revenues and profits. Avian flu outbreaks could also adversely affect the price and availability of poultry, which could negatively impact our profit margins and revenues.
Furthermore, other viruses may be transmitted through human contact, and the risk of contracting viruses could cause employees or guests to avoid gathering in public places, which could adversely affect restaurant guest traffic or the ability to adequately staff restaurants. We could also be adversely affected if jurisdictions in which we have restaurants impose mandatory closures, seek voluntary closures or impose restrictions on operations of restaurants. Even if such measures are not implemented and a virus or other disease does not spread significantly, the perceived risk of infection or health risk may affect our business.
12
We derive all of our revenue from our operations in China.
All of our restaurants are located, and our revenues and profits originate, in China. As a consequence, our financial results are entirely dependent on our results in China, and our business is highly exposed to all of the risks of doing business there. These risks are described further under the section "Risks Related to Doing Business in China."
The operation of our restaurants is subject to the terms of the master license agreement.
Under the master license agreement with YUM, we are required to comply with certain brand standards established by YUM in connection with the licensed business. If we fail to comply with YUM's standards of operations, YUM has various rights, including the right to terminate the applicable license or eliminate the exclusivity of our license in China.
Additionally, the master license agreement will require that we pay a license fee to YUM of 3% of gross revenue of all restaurants of the licensed brands in China. We have historically not considered such license fee in the evaluation of which Company assets should be tested for impairment. Whether Company store-level assets are impaired will be determined by the overall business performance of the store at that time which will require an assessment of many operational factors. Nonetheless, it is possible that our impairment expense could increase going forward as a result of the inclusion of this license fee. While there may be other considerations that mitigate this expense, it is possible that the imposition of the license fee could impact our unit-level results, which could result in additional Company restaurant closures and/or lower new-unit development.
The master license agreement may also be terminated upon the occurrence of certain events, such as the insolvency or bankruptcy of the Company. If the master license agreement were terminated, or any of our license rights were limited, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected. The master license agreement with YUM is further described under the section "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsThe Master License Agreement."
Our success is tied to the success of YUM's brand strength, marketing campaigns and product innovation.
The KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service and Taco Bell trademarks and related intellectual property are owned by YUM and licensed to us in China. The value of these marks depends on the enforcement of YUM's trademark and intellectual property rights, as well as the strength of YUM's brands. Due to the nature of licensing and our agreements with YUM, our success is, to a large extent, directly related to the success of the YUM restaurant system, including the management, marketing success and product innovation of YUM. Further, if YUM were to reallocate resources away from the KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, or Taco Bell brands, these brands and the license rights that have been granted to us could be harmed globally or regionally, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and our competitiveness in China. In addition, strategic decisions made by YUM management related to its brands, marketing and restaurant systems may not be in our best interests and may conflict with our strategic plans.
Shortages or interruptions in the availability and delivery of food and other supplies may increase costs or reduce revenues.
The products sold by us and our franchisees are sourced from a wide variety of suppliers inside and outside of China. We are also dependent upon third parties to make frequent deliveries of food products and supplies that meet our specifications at competitive prices. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of food items and other supplies to our restaurants could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of items we use and the operations of our restaurants. Such shortages or disruptions could be caused by inclement weather, natural disasters such as floods, drought and hurricanes, increased demand, problems in production or distribution, restrictions on imports or exports, political
13
instability in the countries in which suppliers and distributors are located, the financial instability of suppliers and distributors, suppliers' or distributors' failure to meet our standards, product quality issues, inflation, other factors relating to the suppliers and distributors and the countries in which they are located, food safety warnings or advisories or the prospect of such pronouncements or other conditions beyond our control. Despite our efforts in developing multiple suppliers for the same items, a shortage or interruption in the availability of certain food products or supplies could still increase costs and limit the availability of products critical to restaurant operations, which in turn could lead to restaurant closures and/or a decrease in sales. In addition, failure by a principal supplier or distributor for us and/or our franchisees to meet its service requirements could lead to a disruption of service or supply until a new supplier or distributor is engaged, and any disruption could have an adverse effect on our business.
We may not attain our target development goals, aggressive development could cannibalize existing sales and new restaurants may not be profitable.
Our growth strategy depends on our ability to build new restaurants in China. The successful development of new units depends in large part on our ability to open new restaurants and to operate these restaurants profitably. We cannot guarantee that we, or our franchisees, will be able to achieve our expansion goals or that new restaurants will be operated profitably. Further, there is no assurance that any new restaurant will produce operating results similar to those of our existing restaurants. Other risks which could impact our ability to increase the number of our restaurants include prevailing economic conditions and our or our franchisees' ability to obtain suitable restaurant locations, negotiate acceptable lease or purchase terms for the locations, obtain required permits and approvals in a timely manner, hire and train qualified restaurant crews and meet construction schedules.
In addition, the new restaurants could impact the sales of our existing restaurants nearby. There can be no assurance that sales cannibalization will not occur or become more significant in the future as we increase our presence in existing markets in China.
Our growth strategy includes expanding our ownership and operation of restaurant units through organic growth by developing new restaurants that meet our investment objectives. We may not be able to achieve our growth objectives and these new restaurants may not be profitable. The opening and success of restaurants we may open in the future depends on various factors, including:
The prices of raw materials fluctuate.
Our restaurant business depends on reliable sources of large quantities of raw materials such as protein (including poultry, pork, beef and seafood), cheese, oil, flour and vegetables (including potatoes
14
and lettuce). Our raw materials are subject to price volatility caused by any fluctuation in aggregate supply and demand, or other external conditions, such as climate and environmental conditions where weather conditions or natural events or disasters may affect expected harvests of such raw materials. As a result, the historical prices of raw materials consumed by us have fluctuated. We cannot assure you that we will continue to purchase raw materials at reasonable prices, or that our raw materials prices will remain stable in the future. In addition, because we and our franchisees provide competitively priced food, our ability to pass along commodity price increases to our customers is limited. If we are unable to manage the cost of our raw materials or to increase the prices of our products, it may have an adverse impact on our future profit margin.
We are subject to all of the risks associated with leasing real estate, and any adverse developments could harm our results of operations and financial condition.
As a significant number of our restaurants are operating on leased properties, we are exposed to the market conditions of the retail rental market. As of year-end 2015, we leased the land and/or building for approximately 5,770 restaurants in China. Accordingly, we are subject to all of the risks generally associated with leasing real estate, including changes in the investment climate for real estate, demographic trends, trade zone shifts, central business district relocations, and supply or demand for the use of the restaurants, as well as potential liability for environmental contamination.
We generally enter into lease agreements with initial terms of 10 to 20 years. Less than 5% of our existing leases expire before the end of 2017. Most of our lease agreements contain an early termination clause that permits us to terminate the lease agreement early if the restaurant's unit contribution is negative for a specified period of time. We generally do not have renewal options for our leases and need to negotiate the terms of renewal with the lessor, who may insist on a significant modification to the terms and conditions of the lease agreement.
The rent under the majority of our current restaurant lease agreements is generally payable in one of three ways: (i) fixed rent; (ii) the higher of a fixed base rent or a percentage of the restaurant's annual sales revenue, subject to adjustment; or (iii) a percentage of the restaurant's annual sales revenue, subject to adjustment. Adjustments to rent calculated as a percentage of the restaurant's annual sales revenue generally correspond to the level of annual sales revenue as specified in the agreement. In addition to increases in rent resulting from fluctuations in annual sales revenue, certain of our lease agreements include provisions specifying fixed increases in rental payments over the respective terms of the lease agreements. While these provisions have been negotiated and are specified in the lease agreement, they will increase our costs of operation and therefore may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operation and financial position if we are not able to pass on the increased costs to our customers. Certain of our lease agreements also provide for the payment of a management fee at either a fixed rate or fixed amount per square meter of the relevant leased property.
Where we do not have an option to renew a lease agreement, we must negotiate the terms of renewal with the lessor, who may insist on a significant modification to the terms and conditions of the lease agreement. If a lease agreement is renewed at a rate substantially higher than the existing rate, or if any existing favorable terms granted by the lessor are not extended, we must determine whether it is desirable to renew on such modified terms. If we are unable to renew leases for our restaurant sites on acceptable terms or at all, we will have to close or relocate the relevant restaurants, which would eliminate the sales that those restaurants would have contributed to our revenues during the period of closure, and could subject us to construction, renovation and other costs and risks. In addition, the revenue and any profit generated after relocation may be less than the revenue and profit previously generated before such relocation. As a result, any inability to obtain leases for desirable restaurant locations or renew existing leases on commercially reasonable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
15
For details of information regarding our leased properties, please refer to the section entitled "BusinessProperties."
We may not be able to obtain desirable restaurant locations on commercially reasonable terms.
We compete with other retailers and restaurants for suitable locations, and the market for retail premises is very competitive in China. Our competitors may negotiate more favorable lease terms than our lease terms, and some landlords and developers may offer priority or grant exclusivity to some of our competitors for desirable locations for various reasons beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will be able to enter into new lease agreements for prime locations on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we cannot obtain desirable restaurant locations on commercially reasonable terms, our business, results of operations and ability to implement our growth strategy may be materially and adversely affected.
Labor shortages or increases in labor costs could slow our growth, harm our business and reduce our profitability.
Restaurant operations are highly service-oriented and our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate a sufficient number of qualified employees, including restaurant managers, and other crew members. The market for qualified employees in our industry is very competitive. Any future inability to recruit and retain qualified individuals may delay the planned openings of new restaurants and could adversely impact our existing restaurants. Any such delays, material increases in employee turnover rate in existing restaurants or widespread employee dissatisfaction could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, competition for qualified employees could also compel us to pay higher wages to attract or retain key crew members, which could result in higher labor costs.
The Chinese Labor Contract Law that became effective on January 1, 2008 formalizes workers' rights concerning overtime hours, pensions, layoffs, employment contracts and the role of trade unions, and provides for specific standards and procedures for employees' protection. Moreover, minimum wage requirements in China have increased and could continue to increase our labor costs in the future. The salary level of employees in the restaurant industry in China has been increasing in the past several years. We may not be able to increase our product prices enough to pass these increased labor costs on to our customers, in which case our business and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.
Our success depends substantially on our corporate reputation and on the value and perception of our brands.
One of our primary assets is the exclusive right to use the KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service and Taco Bell trademarks in restaurants in China. Our success depends in large part upon our ability and our franchisees' ability to maintain and enhance the value of these brands and our customers' loyalty to these brands in China. Brand value is based in part on consumer perceptions on a variety of subjective qualities. Business incidents, whether isolated or recurring, and whether originating from us, our franchisees, competitors, suppliers and distributors or YUM and its other licensees or franchisees, competitors, suppliers and distributors outside China can significantly reduce brand value and consumer trust, particularly if the incidents receive considerable publicity or result in litigation. For example, our brands could be damaged by claims or perceptions about the quality or safety of our products or the quality of our suppliers and distributors, regardless of whether such claims or perceptions are true. Any such incidents (even if resulting from the actions of a competitor) could cause a decline directly or indirectly in consumer confidence in, or the perception of, our brands and/or our products and reduce consumer demand for our products, which would likely result in lower revenues and profits. Additionally, our corporate reputation could suffer from a real or perceived failure of corporate governance or misconduct by a company officer, employee or representative.
16
Our inability or failure to recognize, respond to and effectively manage the accelerated impact of social media could materially adversely impact our business.
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms, including weblogs (blogs), mini-blogs, chat platforms, social media websites, and other forms of Internet-based communications which allow individuals access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. Information posted on such platforms at any time may be adverse to our interests and/or may be inaccurate. The dissemination of inaccurate or irresponsible information online could harm our business, reputation, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations, regardless of the information's accuracy. The damage may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction.
Other risks associated with the use of social media include improper disclosure of proprietary information, negative comments about our brands, exposure of personally identifiable information, fraud, hoaxes or malicious exposure of false information. The inappropriate use of social media by our customers or employees could increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations.
We could be party to litigation that could adversely affect us by increasing our expenses, diverting management attention or subjecting us to significant monetary damages and other remedies.
We are involved in legal proceedings from time to time. These proceedings do or could include consumer, employment, real-estate related, tort, intellectual property, breach of contract, and other litigation. As a public company, we may in the future also be involved in legal proceedings alleging violation of securities laws or derivative litigation. Plaintiffs in these types of lawsuits often seek recovery of very large or indeterminate amounts, and the magnitude of the potential loss relating to such lawsuits may not be accurately estimated. Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid, or whether we are ultimately held liable, such litigation may be expensive to defend and may divert resources and management attention away from our operations and negatively impact reported earnings. With respect to insured claims, a judgment for monetary damages in excess of any insurance coverage could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. Any adverse publicity resulting from these allegations may also adversely affect our reputation, which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations.
In addition, the restaurant industry around the world has been subject to claims that relate to the nutritional content of food products, as well as claims that the menus and practices of restaurant chains have led to customer health issues, including weight gain and other adverse effects. We may also be subject to these types of claims in the future and, even if we are not, publicity about these matters (particularly directed at the quick service and fast-casual segments of the retail food industry) may harm our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to comply with anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws could adversely affect our business operations.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar Chinese laws and other similar applicable laws prohibiting bribery of government officials and other corrupt practices are the subject of increasing emphasis and enforcement around the world. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to promote compliance with these laws, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, agents or other third parties will not take actions in violation of our policies or applicable law, particularly as we expand our operations through organic growth and acquisitions. Any such violations or suspected violations could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, including substantial fines and significant investigation costs, and could also materially damage the KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service and Taco Bell brands, as well as our reputation and prospects,
17
business and operating results. Publicity relating to any noncompliance or alleged noncompliance could also harm our reputation and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.
As a U.S. company, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our worldwide income, which could result in material taxes in addition to the taxes on our China business.
We are a U.S. corporation that will indirectly own the subsidiaries that conduct our business in China. As a U.S. corporation, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our worldwide income, including certain income that is distributed or deemed distributed to us by our subsidiaries operating in China. As a result, although substantially all of our profit is anticipated to be earned outside the U.S. and taxed at local tax rates that may be lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate, our after-tax income is expected to be determined based on U.S. tax rates, except with respect to any portion of our income that is permanently reinvested outside the U.S., thus reducing our after-tax profit.
In addition, as a holding company our ability to make distributions to our shareholders generally will be based on our ability to receive distributions from our subsidiaries. As a U.S. company, our receipt of any such distributions from our subsidiaries may result in the current recognition of U.S. taxable income and could cause our effective tax rate to increase to the extent such U.S. income taxes had not already been taken into account in such determination. This incremental U.S. tax cost could affect the amount of distributions we are able to make to our shareholders. For more information regarding our plans to pay dividends, see "Dividend Policy."
Tax matters, including changes in tax rates, disagreements with taxing authorities and imposition of new taxes could impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, turnover, use, value-added, import, property and withholding taxes, in China and income and other taxes in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. We are also subject to reviews, examinations and audits by Chinese tax authorities, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS"), and other taxing authorities with respect to income and non-income based taxes. If Chinese tax authorities, the IRS, or another taxing authority disagrees with our tax positions, we could face additional tax liabilities, including interest and penalties. Payment of such additional amounts upon final settlement or adjudication of any disputes could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial position.
In addition, we are directly and indirectly affected by new tax legislation and regulation and the interpretation of tax laws and regulations worldwide. Recently, the U.S. government has made public statements indicating that it has made international tax reform a priority, and key members of the U.S. Congress have conducted hearings and proposed new legislation. Certain changes to U.S. tax laws currently proposed by lawmakers would impact the ability of U.S. taxpayers to defer U.S. taxation of foreign earnings and to claim and utilize foreign tax credits. These proposals would also eliminate certain tax deductions until earnings are repatriated to the United States. Moreover, the tax regime in China is rapidly evolving and there can be significant uncertainty for taxpayers in China as Chinese tax laws may change significantly or be subject to uncertain interpretations. Changes in legislation, regulation or interpretation of existing laws and regulations in the U.S., China, and other jurisdictions where we are subject to taxation could increase our taxes and have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
Our business may be adversely impacted by changes in consumer discretionary spending and general economic conditions.
Purchases at our restaurants are discretionary for consumers and, therefore, our results of operations are susceptible to economic slowdowns and recessions. Our results of operations are dependent upon discretionary spending by consumers, which may be affected by general economic
18
conditions in China. Some of the factors that impact discretionary consumer spending include unemployment rates, fluctuations in the level of disposable income, the price of gasoline, stock market performance and changes in the level of consumer confidence. These and other macroeconomic factors could have an adverse effect on our sales, profitability or development plans, which could harm our financial condition and operating results.
The retail food industry in which we operate is highly competitive.
The retail food industry in which we operate is highly competitive with respect to price and quality of food products, new product development, advertising levels and promotional initiatives, customer service, reputation, restaurant location, and attractiveness and maintenance of properties. If consumer or dietary preferences change, or our restaurants are unable to compete successfully with other retail food outlets in new and existing markets, our business could be adversely affected. We also face growing competition as a result of convergence in grocery, convenience, deli and restaurant services, including the offering by the grocery industry of convenient meals, including pizzas and entrees with side dishes. Competition from delivery aggregators and other food delivery services in China has also increased in recent years, particularly in urbanized areas. Increased competition could have an adverse effect on our sales, profitability or development plans, which could harm our financial condition and operating results.
Any inability to successfully compete with the other restaurants and catering services in our markets may prevent us from increasing or sustaining our revenues and profitability and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows. We may also need to modify or refine elements of our restaurant system in order to compete with popular new restaurant styles or concepts, including delivery aggregators, that develop from time to time. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in implementing any such modifications or that such modifications will not reduce our profitability.
We require various approvals, licenses and permits to operate our business and the loss of or failure to obtain or renew any or all of these approvals, licenses and permits could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
In accordance with the laws and regulations of China, we are required to maintain various approvals, licenses and permits in order to operate our restaurant business. Each of our restaurants in China is required to obtain the relevant food hygiene license or food service license, public assembly venue hygiene license, environmental protection assessment and inspection approval and fire safety design approval and fire prevention inspection report, and some of our restaurants which sell alcoholic beverages are required to make further registrations or obtain additional approvals. These licenses and registrations are achieved upon satisfactory compliance with, among other things, the applicable food safety, hygiene, environmental protection, fire safety, and alcohol laws and regulations. Most of these licenses are subject to periodic examinations or verifications by relevant authorities and are valid only for a fixed period of time and subject to renewal and accreditation. There is no assurance that all of our franchisees will be able to obtain or maintain any of these licenses.
We may not be able to adequately protect the intellectual property we own or have the right to use, which could harm the value of our brands and adversely affect our business and operations.
We believe that our brands are essential to our success and our competitive position. Although the trademarks we use in China are duly registered, these steps may not be adequate to protect these intellectual property rights. See "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsMaster License Agreement." In addition, third parties may infringe upon the intellectual property rights we own or have the right to use or misappropriate the proprietary knowledge we use in our business, primarily our proprietary recipes, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
19
condition or results of operations. The laws of China may not offer the same protection for intellectual property rights as the U.S. and other jurisdictions with more robust intellectual property laws.
We are required under the master license agreement with YUM to police, protect and enforce the trademarks and other intellectual property rights used by us, and to protect trade secrets. Such actions to police, protect, or enforce could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, which could negatively affect our sales, profitability and prospects. Furthermore, the application of laws governing intellectual property rights in China is uncertain and evolving, and could involve substantial risks to us. Even if actions to police, protect, or enforce are resolved in our favor, we may not be able to successfully enforce the judgment and remedies awarded by the court and such remedies may not be adequate to compensate us for our actual or anticipated losses.
In addition, we may face claims of infringement that could interfere with the use of the proprietary know-how, concepts, recipes or trade secrets we use in our business. Defending against such claims may be costly and, if we are unsuccessful, we may be prohibited from continuing to use such proprietary information in the future or be forced to pay damages, royalties or other fees for using such proprietary information, any of which could negatively affect our sales, profitability and prospects.
Our licensor may not be able to adequately protect its intellectual property, which could harm the value of the KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service and Taco Bell brands and branded products and adversely affect our business.
The success of our business depends in large part on our continued ability to use the trademarks, service marks, recipes and other components of the KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service and Taco Bell branded systems that we license from YUM pursuant to the master license agreement.
We are not aware of any assertions that the trademarks, menu offerings or other intellectual property rights we license from YUM infringe upon the proprietary rights of third parties, but third parties may claim infringement by us or YUM in the future. Any such claim, whether or not it has merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, cause delays in introducing new menu items in the future or require us to enter into additional royalty or licensing agreements with third parties. As a result, any such claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our results of operations may fluctuate due to seasonality and certain major events in China.
Our sales are subject to seasonality. For example, we typically experience higher sales during traditional Chinese festivals and holiday seasons and lower sales and lower operating profit during the second and fourth quarters. As a result of these fluctuations, softer sales during a period in which we have historically experienced higher sales could have a disproportionately negative effect on our full-year results, and comparisons of sales and operating results within a financial year may not be able to be relied on as indicators of our future performance. Any seasonal fluctuations reported in the future may differ from the expectations of our investors.
Our information systems may fail or be damaged, which could harm our operations and our business.
Our operations are dependent upon the successful and uninterrupted functioning of our computer and information systems. Our systems could be exposed to damage or interruption from fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, unauthorized entry and computer viruses. System defects, failures, interruptions, unauthorized entries or viruses could result in:
20
To the extent we rely on the systems of third parties in areas such as credit card processing, telecommunications and wireless networks, any defects, failures and interruptions in such systems could result in similar adverse effects on our business. Sustained or repeated system defects, failures or interruptions could materially impact our operations and operating results. Also, if we are unsuccessful in updating, upgrading and expanding our systems, our ability to increase comparable store sales, improve operations, implement cost controls and grow our business may be constrained.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our infrastructure may be vulnerable to physical break-ins, computer viruses, programming errors, attacks by third parties or similar disruptive problems.
We may be unable to detect, deter and prevent all instances of fraud or other misconduct committed by our employees, customers or other third parties.
As we operate in the restaurant industry, we usually receive and handle relatively large amounts of cash in our daily operations. Instances of fraud, theft or other misconduct with respect to cash can be difficult to detect, deter and prevent, and could subject us to financial losses and harm our reputation.
We may be unable to prevent, detect or deter all such instances of misconduct. Any such misconduct committed against our interests, which may include past acts that have gone undetected or future acts, may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Generally accepted accounting principles and related accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations with regard to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business, including, but not limited to, revenue recognition, long-lived asset impairment, impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, and share-based compensation, are highly complex and involve many subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments. Changes in these rules or their interpretation or changes in underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments could significantly change our reported or expected financial performance or financial condition. New accounting guidance may require systems and other changes that could increase our operating costs and/or change our financial statements. For example, implementing future accounting guidance related to leases and other areas impacted by the convergence project between the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board could require us to make significant changes to our lease management system or other accounting systems, and will result in changes to our financial statements.
Our insurance policies may not provide adequate coverage for all claims associated with our business operations.
By the distribution date, we expect to have obtained insurance policies that we believe are customary for businesses of our size and type and in line with the standard commercial practice in China. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not cost effective to insure, such as loss of reputation. If we were held liable for uninsured losses or amounts or claims for insured losses exceeding the limits of our insurance coverage, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
21
Failure to protect the integrity and security of personal information of our customers and employees could result in substantial costs, expose us to litigation and damage our reputation.
We receive and maintain certain personal financial and other information about our customers and employees when, for example, we accept credit cards or smart cards for payment. The use and handling of this information is regulated by evolving and increasingly demanding laws and regulations, as well as by certain third-party contracts. If our security and information systems are compromised as a result of data corruption or loss, cyber-attack or a network security incident or our employees, franchisees or vendors fail to comply with these laws and regulations and this information is obtained by unauthorized persons or used inappropriately, it could subject us to litigation and government enforcement actions, damage our reputation, cause us to incur substantial costs, liabilities and penalties and/or result in a loss of customer confidence, any and all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure by us to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the rules of the SEC could harm our business and operating results and/or result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We will be required to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and effective internal control over financial reporting in connection with our filing of periodic reports with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting or to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or any report by us of a material weakness in such controls, may cause investors to lose confidence in our combined financial statements. If we fail to remedy any material weakness, our combined financial statements may be inaccurate and we may face restricted access to the capital markets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Unforeseeable business interruptions could adversely affect our business.
Our operations are vulnerable to interruption by fires, floods, earthquakes, power failures and power shortages, hardware and software failures, computer viruses and other events beyond our control. In particular, our business is dependent on prompt delivery and reliable transportation of our food products by our logistics partners. Unforeseeable events, such as adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, severe traffic accidents and delays, non-cooperation of our logistics partners, and labor strikes, could lead to delay or lost deliveries to our restaurants, which may result in the loss of revenue or in customer claims. There may also be instances where the conditions of fresh, chilled or frozen food products, being perishable goods, deteriorate due to delivery delays, malfunctioning of refrigeration facilities or poor handling during transportation by our logistics partners. This may result in a failure by us to provide quality food and services to customers, thereby affecting our business and potentially damaging our reputation. Any such events experienced by us could disrupt our operations.
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Changes in Chinese political policies and economic and social policies or conditions may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and may result in our inability to sustain our growth and expansion strategies.
Substantially all of our assets and business operations are located in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally, and by continued economic growth in China as a whole. The Chinese economy, markets and levels of consumer spending are
22
influenced by many factors beyond our control, including current and future economic conditions, political uncertainty, unemployment rates, inflation, fluctuations in the level of disposable income, taxation, foreign exchange control, and changes in interest and currency exchange rates.
The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, foreign exchange control and fiscal measures and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures since the late 1970s emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the restructuring of state assets and state owned enterprises, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a significant portion of productive assets in China is still owned or controlled by the Chinese government. The Chinese government also exercises significant control or influence over Chinese economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary and fiscal policies, regulating financial services and institutions and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth in recent decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures benefit the overall Chinese economy but may also have a negative effect on us. Our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us. In addition, the Chinese government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate increases, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China. Since 2012, Chinese economic growth has slowed and any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce the demand for our products and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Restaurant dining, and specifically casual dining, is discretionary for customers and tends to be higher during periods in which favorable economic conditions prevail. Customers' tendency to become more cost-conscious as a result of an economic slowdown or decreases in disposable income may reduce our customer traffic or average revenue per customer, which may adversely affect our revenues.
Uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws, rules and regulations could have a material adverse effect on us.
Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China, and are governed by Chinese laws, rules and regulations. Our subsidiaries are subject to laws, rules and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China. The Chinese legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which legal cases may be cited for reference but have limited value as precedents. In the late 1970s, the Chinese government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past four decades has significantly increased the protections afforded to various forms of foreign or private-sector investment in China. However, since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the Chinese legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties.
From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to interpret and/or enforce our legal rights. However, since Chinese administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings, and the level of legal protection we enjoy, than in more developed legal systems. Any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. Furthermore, the Chinese legal system is based in part on government policies and internal
23
rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China could materially adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.
Fluctuation in the value of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on your investment.
The conversion of RMB into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People's Bank of China ("PBOC"). The Chinese government allowed the RMB to appreciate by more than 20% against the U.S. dollar between July 2005 and July 2008. Between July 2008 and June 2010, the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow range. After June 2010, the Chinese government allowed the RMB to appreciate slowly against the U.S. dollar again. On August 11, 2015, however, the PBOC allowed the RMB to depreciate by approximately 2% against the U.S. dollar. Changes in the value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may occur relatively suddenly, as was the case, for example, in August 2015. It is difficult to predict how market forces or Chinese or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future.
Substantially all of our revenues and costs are denominated in RMB. As a Delaware holding company, we may rely on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries in China. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially affect our cash flows, net revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our common stock in U.S. dollars. For example, an appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would make any new RMB-denominated investments or expenditures more costly to us, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for such purposes. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our common stock. If we decide to convert RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our common stock, strategic acquisitions or investments or other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.
Very few hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. In addition, our currency exchange loss may be magnified by Chinese exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates and restrictions on exchange may have a material adverse effect on your investment.
Changes in the laws and regulations of China or non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations may have a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business and operations are subject to the laws and regulations of China. The continuance of our operations depends upon compliance with, inter alia, applicable Chinese environmental, health, safety, labor, social security, pension and other laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in fines, penalties or lawsuits. In addition, there is no assurance that we will be able to comply fully with applicable laws and regulations should there be any amendment to the existing regulatory regime or implementation of any new laws and regulations.
Furthermore, our business and operations in China entail the procurement of licenses and permits from the relevant authorities. Difficulties or failure in obtaining the required permits, licenses and certificates could result in our inability to continue our business in China in a manner consistent with past practice. In such an event, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
24
We expect to rely to a significant extent on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our principal operating subsidiaries in China to fund offshore cash requirements.
We are a holding company and conduct all of our business through our operating subsidiaries. We expect to rely to a significant extent on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our principal operating subsidiaries for our cash requirements. As noted above, distributions to us from our subsidiaries may result in incremental tax costs.
The laws, rules and regulations applicable to our Chinese subsidiaries permit payments of dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with applicable Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, under Chinese law an enterprise incorporated in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, after making up previous years' accumulated losses, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such a fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. As a result, our Chinese subsidiaries are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their net assets to us in the form of dividends. At the discretion of the board of directors, as an enterprise incorporated in China, each of our Chinese subsidiaries may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on Chinese accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends. Any limitation on the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could limit our ability to make investments or acquisitions outside of China that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
In addition, China Enterprise Income Tax Law (the "EIT Law") and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax at a rate of 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to companies that are not Chinese-resident enterprises unless otherwise reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the Chinese central government and the governments of other countries or regions where the non-Chinese-resident enterprises are incorporated. Although a foreign tax credit is generally available against our U.S. federal income taxes for such withholding taxes, the ability to utilize foreign tax credits is subject to complex limitations and as such we may be limited in our ability to offset any such Chinese withholding tax against our U.S. federal income tax liabilities.
Restrictive covenants in bank credit facilities, joint venture agreements or other arrangements that we or our subsidiaries may enter into in the future may also restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions or remittances to us. These restrictions could reduce the amount of dividends or other distributions we receive from our subsidiaries, which in turn could restrict our ability to return capital to our shareholders in the future.
Under the EIT Law, if we are classified as a Chinese resident enterprise for Chinese enterprise income tax purposes such classification would likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-Chinese shareholders.
Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside China with a "de facto management body" within China is considered a Chinese resident enterprise for Chinese enterprise income tax purposes. A Chinese resident enterprise is generally subject to certain Chinese tax reporting obligations and a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on its worldwide income. Furthermore, under the EIT Law, if we are a Chinese resident enterprise (i) dividends paid by us to our non-Chinese shareholders would be subject to a 10% dividend withholding tax or a 20% individual income tax if the shareholder is an individual and (ii) such non-Chinese shareholders may become subject to Chinese tax and filing obligations as well as withholding with respect to any disposition of our stock, subject to certain treaty or other exemptions or reductions.
The Company and each Company subsidiary that is organized outside of China intend to conduct their management functions in a manner that does not cause them to be Chinese resident enterprises,
25
including by carrying on their day-to-day management activities and maintaining their key assets and records, such as resolutions of their board of directors and resolutions of stockholders, outside of China. As such, we do not believe that the Company or any of its non-Chinese subsidiaries should be considered a Chinese resident enterprise for purposes of the EIT Law. However, given the uncertainty regarding the application of the EIT Law to the Company and its future operations, there can be no assurance that the Company or any of its non-Chinese subsidiaries will not be treated as a Chinese resident enterprise now or in the future for Chinese tax law purposes.
For details of certain Chinese tax considerations related to the distribution and ownership of our common stock, see "Material Chinese Tax Consequences."
We and our shareholders face uncertainty with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in Chinese resident enterprises through transfer of non-Chinese-holding companies. Enhanced scrutiny by the Chinese tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions and dispositions we may pursue in the future.
In February 2015, the Chinese State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") issued Bulletin 7 on Income arising from Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non-Resident Enterprises. Pursuant to Bulletin 7, an "indirect transfer" of Chinese taxable assets, including equity interests in a Chinese resident enterprise ("Chinese interests"), by a non-resident enterprise, may be recharacterized and treated as a direct transfer of Chinese taxable assets, if such arrangement does not have reasonable commercial purpose and the transferor has avoided payment of Chinese enterprise income tax. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an "indirect transfer" of Chinese interests by disposing of equity interests in an offshore holding company that directly or indirectly owns Chinese interests, the transferor, transferee, and/or the Chinese resident enterprise may report such indirect transfer to the relevant Chinese tax authority, which in turn reports to the SAT. Using general anti-tax avoidance provisions, the SAT may treat such indirect transfer as a direct transfer of Chinese interests if the transfer has avoided Chinese tax by way of an arrangement without reasonable commercial purpose. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to Chinese enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer would be obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of up to 10% of the capital gain in the case of an indirect transfer of equity interests in a Chinese resident enterprise. Both the transferor and the party obligated to withhold the applicable taxes may be subject to penalties under Chinese tax laws if the transferor fails to pay the taxes and the party obligated to withhold the applicable taxes fails to withhold the taxes. However, the above regulations do not apply if either (i) the selling non-resident enterprise recognizes the relevant gain by purchasing and selling equity of the same listed enterprise in the open market (the "listed enterprise exception"); or (ii) the selling non-resident enterprise would have been exempted from enterprise income tax in China if it had directly held and transferred such Chinese interests that were indirectly transferred.
Under current law, the China indirect transfer rules do not apply to gains recognized by individual shareholders, regardless of whether or not they acquire or transfer our stock in open market transactions. Following the distribution, we expect that transfers in open market transactions of our stock by corporate or other non-individual shareholders that have purchased our stock in open market transactions will not be taxable under the China indirect transfer rules due to the listed enterprise exception. Transfers, whether in the open market or otherwise, of our stock by corporate and other non-individual shareholders that acquired our stock in the distribution or in non-open market transactions may be taxable under the China indirect transfer rules and our China subsidiaries may have filing obligations in respect of such transfers. Transfers of our stock in non-open market transactions by corporate and other non-individual shareholders may be taxable under the China indirect transfer rules, whether or not such stock was acquired in open market transactions, and our China subsidiaries may have filing obligations in respect of such transfers. Corporate and other
26
non-individual shareholders may be exempt from taxation under the China indirect transfer rules with respect to transfers of our stock if they are tax resident in a country or region that has a tax treaty or arrangement with China that provides for a capital gains tax exemption and they qualify for that exemption. For example, under the U.S.-China double tax treaty, a shareholder that is a U.S. tax resident and that disposes of stock representing less than 25% of our outstanding stock should be exempt from Chinese capital gains tax. However, we face uncertainties with respect to the reporting and tax treatment of transactions involving the transfer of equity interests in our company by investors that are non-Chinese resident enterprises.
In addition, we may be subject to these indirect transfer rules in the event of any future sale of a Chinese resident enterprise through the sale of a non-Chinese holding company, or the purchase of a Chinese resident enterprise through the purchase of a non-Chinese holding company. Our company and other non-resident enterprises in our group may be subject to filing obligations or taxation if our company and other non-resident enterprises in our group are transferors in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company and other non-resident enterprises in our group are transferees in such transactions.
You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing original actions in China based on United States or other foreign laws against us and our management.
We conduct substantially all of our operations in China and substantially all of our assets are located in China. In addition, some of our directors and executive officers reside within China. As a result, it may not be possible to effect service of process within the United States or elsewhere outside of China upon these persons, including with respect to matters arising under applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws. It may also be difficult for investors to bring an original lawsuit against us or our directors or executive officers based on U.S. federal securities laws in a Chinese court. Moreover, China does not have treaties with the United States providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts. Therefore, even if a judgment were obtained against us or our management for matters arising under U.S. federal or state securities laws or other applicable U.S. federal or state law, it may be difficult to enforce such a judgment.
Certain defects caused by non-registration of our lease agreements related to certain properties occupied by us in China may materially and adversely affect our ability to use such properties.
As of December 31, 2015, we leased approximately 5,770 properties in China, and to our knowledge, the lessors of most properties leased by us, most of which are used as premises for our restaurants, had not registered the lease agreements with government authorities in China.
According to Chinese laws, a lease agreement is generally required to be registered with the relevant land and real estate administration bureau. However, the enforcement of this legal requirement varies depending on the local regulations and practices and, in cities where we operate a significant number of restaurants, the local land and real estate administration bureaus no longer require registration or no longer impose fines for failure to register the lease agreements. In addition, our standard lease agreements require the lessors to make such registration and, although we have proactively requested that the applicable lessors complete or cooperate with us to complete the registration in a timely manner, we are unable to control whether and when such lessors will do so.
A failure to register a lease agreement will not invalidate the lease agreement but may subject the parties to a fine. Depending on the local regulations, the lessor alone or both the lessor and lessee are under the obligation to register a lease agreement with the relevant land and real estate administration bureau. In the event that a fine is imposed on both the lessor and lessee, and if we are unable to recover from the lessor any fine paid by us based on the terms of the lease agreement, such fine will be borne by us.
27
To date, the operation of our restaurants has not been disrupted due to the non-registration of our lease agreements. No fines, actions or claims have been instituted against us or, to our knowledge, the lessors with respect to the non-registration of our lease agreements. However, we cannot assure you that our lease agreements relating to, and our right to use and occupy, our premises will not be challenged in the future.
Our restaurants are susceptible to risks in relation to unexpected land acquisitions, building closures or demolitions.
The Chinese government has the statutory power to acquire any land use rights of land plots and the buildings thereon in China in the public interest subject to certain legal procedures. Under the Regulations for the Expropriation of and Compensation for Housing on State-owned Land, issued by the State Council, which became effective as of January 21, 2011, there is no legal provision that the tenant of an expropriated property is entitled to compensation. Generally speaking, only the owner of such property is entitled to compensation from the government. The claims of the tenant against the landlord will be subject to the terms of the lease agreement. In the event of any compulsory acquisition, closure or demolition of any of the properties at which our restaurants or facilities are situated, we may not receive any compensation from the government or the landlord. In such event, we may be forced to close the affected restaurant(s) or relocate to other locations, which may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our cash balances effectively and affect the value of your investment.
The Chinese government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Under our current corporate structure as a Delaware holding company, our income is primarily derived from the earnings from our Chinese subsidiaries. Substantially all revenues of our Chinese subsidiaries are denominated in RMB. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or to make other payments to us, or otherwise to satisfy their foreign currency-denominated obligations. Under existing Chinese foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange ("SAFE") by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, for any Chinese company, dividends can be declared and paid only out of the retained earnings of that company under Chinese law. Furthermore, approval from SAFE or its local branch is required where RMB are to be converted into foreign currencies and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses, such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. Specifically, under the existing exchange restrictions, without a prior approval of SAFE, cash generated from the operations of our subsidiaries in China may not be used to pay dividends by our Chinese subsidiaries to our company and pay employees of our Chinese subsidiaries who are located outside China in a currency other than the RMB. With a prior approval from SAFE, cash generated from the operations of our Chinese subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities may not be used to pay off debt in a currency other than the RMB owed by our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities to entities outside China, or make other capital expenditures outside China in a currency other than the RMB. The Chinese government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in currencies other than RMB to our shareholders or service and repay our indebtedness when due.
Furthermore, because repatriation of funds of our Chinese subsidiaries requires the prior approval of SAFE, such repatriation could be delayed, restricted or limited. There can be no assurance that the
28
rules and regulations pursuant to which SAFE grants or denies such approval will not change in a way that adversely affects the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to repatriate funds out of China. Any limitation on the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to repatriate funds from China could materially and adversely affect our ability to pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Any failure to comply with Chinese regulations regarding our employee equity incentive plans may subject Chinese plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.
Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, China residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas non-publicly-listed companies may submit applications to SAFE or its local branches for foreign exchange registration with respect to offshore special purpose companies. Our directors, executive officers and other employees who are Chinese citizens or who have resided in China for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted restricted shares, RSUs or options may follow SAFE Circular 37 to apply for foreign exchange registration before our company becomes an overseas listed company. After our company becomes an overseas listed company upon completion of the distribution, we and our directors, executive officers and other employees who are Chinese citizens or who have resided in China for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted restricted shares, RSUs or options will be subject to the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, issued by SAFE in February 2012, according to which, employees, directors, supervisors and other management members participating in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company who are Chinese citizens or who are non-Chinese citizens residing in China for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to limited exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be a Chinese subsidiary of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. Failure to complete SAFE registrations may result in fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to make payments under our equity incentive plans or receive dividends or sales proceeds related thereto, or our ability to contribute additional capital into our wholly-foreign owned enterprises in China and limit our wholly-foreign owned enterprises' ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional equity incentive plans for our directors and employees under Chinese law.
In addition, the SAT has issued circulars concerning employee share options and restricted shares. Under these circulars, employees working in China who exercise share options, or whose restricted shares or RSUs vest, will be subject to Chinese individual income tax. The Chinese subsidiaries of an overseas listed company have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of those employees related to their share options, restricted shares or RSUs. Although we currently intend to withhold income tax from our Chinese employees in connection with their exercise of options and the vesting of their restricted shares and RSUs, if the employees fail to pay, or Chinese subsidiaries fail to withhold, their income taxes according to relevant laws, rules and regulations, Chinese subsidiaries may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities or other Chinese government authorities.
Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by Chinese regulations may subject us to penalties.
Companies operating in China are required to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of their employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where they operate their businesses. While we believe we comply with all material aspects of relevant regulations, the requirements governing employee benefit
29
plans have not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. If we are subject to late fees or fines in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
The audit report included in this Information Statement is prepared by auditors who are not currently inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, our shareholders are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.
As an auditor of companies that are publicly traded in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB"), our independent registered public accounting firm is required under the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB. However, because we have substantial operations within China, our independent registered public accounting firm's audit documentation related to their audit report included in this Information Statement is located in China. The PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections in China or review audit documentation located within China without the approval of Chinese authorities.
Inspections of other auditors conducted by the PCAOB outside of China have at times identified deficiencies in those auditors' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The lack of PCAOB inspections of audit work undertaken in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor's audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, stockholders may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections, and may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.
Proceedings instituted by the SEC against five China-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in our financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.
In late 2012, the SEC commenced administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese member firms of the "big four" accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. The Rule 102(e) proceedings initiated by the SEC relate to the failure of these firms to produce certain documents, including audit work papers, in response to a request from the SEC pursuant to Section 106 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The auditors located in China claim they are not in a position lawfully to produce such documents directly to the SEC because of restrictions under Chinese law and specific directives issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC"). The issues raised by the proceedings are not specific to our auditor or to us, but potentially affect equally all PCAOB-registered audit firms based in China and all businesses based in China (or with substantial operations in China) with securities listed in the United States. In addition, auditors based outside of China are subject to similar restrictions under Chinese law and CSRC directives in respect of audit work that is carried out in China which supports the audit opinions issued on financial statements of entities with substantial China operations.
In January 2014, the administrative judge reached an initial decision that the Chinese member firms of the "big four" accounting firms should be barred from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. In February 2014, the accounting firms filed a petition for review of the initial decision. In February 2015, the Chinese member firms of the "big four" accounting firms reached a settlement with the SEC. As part of the settlement, each of the "big four" accounting firms agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute with the SEC. The settlement stays the current proceeding for four years, during which time the firms are required to follow detailed procedures to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms' audit documents via the CSRC. If a firm does not follow the procedures, the SEC may impose penalties such as suspensions, or commence a new,
30
expedited administrative proceeding against any non-compliant firm. The SEC could also restart administrative proceedings against all four firms.
If our independent registered public accounting firm were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC, and we are unable to timely find another independent registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to delisting of our common stock from [ · ]. Moreover, any negative news about the proceedings against these audit firms may adversely affect investor confidence in companies with substantial China based operations listed in on securities exchanges in the United States. All of these factors could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to access the capital markets.
Chinese regulation of loans to, and direct investment in, Chinese entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may restrict or prevent us from making loans to our Chinese entities or making additional capital contributions to our Chinese subsidiaries, which may materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
We are a Delaware holding company conducting our operations in China through our Chinese subsidiaries. We may make loans to our Chinese subsidiaries, or we may make additional capital contributions to our Chinese subsidiaries, or we may establish new Chinese subsidiaries and make capital contributions to these new Chinese subsidiaries, or we may acquire offshore entities with business operations in China in an offshore transaction.
Most of these uses are subject to Chinese regulations and approvals. For example, loans by us to our wholly-owned Chinese subsidiaries to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of SAFE. If we decide to finance our wholly-owned Chinese subsidiaries by means of capital contributions, these capital contributions must be approved by the China Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") or its local counterpart.
On August 29, 2008, SAFE promulgated the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. SAFE Circular 142 provides that RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable governmental authority and may not be used for equity investments within China with limited exceptions (e.g., by holding companies, venture capital or private equity firms). In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from the foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. The use of such RMB capital may not be altered without SAFE approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Such requirements are also known as the "payment-based foreign currency settlement system" established under SAFE Circular 142. Violations of SAFE Circular 142 could result in monetary or other penalties. Furthermore, SAFE promulgated a circular on November 9, 2010, known as Circular 59, and another supplemental circular on July 18, 2011, known as Circular 88, which both tighten the examination of the authenticity of settlement of foreign currency capital or net proceeds from overseas listings. SAFE further promulgated the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 45, on November 9, 2011, which expressly prohibits foreign-invested enterprises from using registered capital settled in RMB converted from foreign currencies to grant loans through entrustment arrangements with a bank, repay inter-company loans or repay bank loans that have been transferred to a third party. Circular 142, Circular 59, Circular 88 and Circular 45 may significantly limit our ability to make loans or capital contributions to our Chinese
31
subsidiaries and to convert such proceeds into RMB, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in China.
Furthermore, on April 8, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on the Reform of the Administrative Method of the Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, which became effective as of June 1, 2015. This Circular 19 is to implement the so-called "conversion-at-will" of foreign currency in capital account, which was established under a circular issued by SAFE on August 4, 2014, or Circular 36, and was implemented in 16 designated industrial parks as a reform pilot. The Circular 19 now implements the conversion-at-will of foreign currency settlement system nationally, and it abolishes the application of Circular 142, Circular 88 and Circular 36 starting from June 1, 2015. Among other things, under Circular 19, foreign-invested enterprises may either continue to follow the payment-based foreign currency settlement system or elect to follow the conversion-at-will of foreign currency settlement system. Where a foreign-invested enterprise follows the conversion-at-will of foreign currency settlement system, it may convert any or 100% of the amount of the foreign currency in its capital account into RMB at any time. The converted RMB will be kept in a designated account known as "Settled but Pending Payment Account," and if the foreign-invested enterprise needs to make further payment from such designated account, it still needs to provide supporting documents and go through the review process with its bank. If under special circumstances the foreign-invested enterprise cannot provide supporting documents in time, Circular 19 grants the banks the power to provide a grace period to the enterprise and make the payment before receiving the supporting documents. The foreign-invested enterprise will then need to submit the supporting documents within 20 working days after payment. In addition, foreign-invested enterprises are now allowed to use their converted RMB to make equity investments in China under Circular 19. However, foreign-invested enterprises are still required to use the converted RMB in the designated account within their approved business scope under the principle of authenticity and self-use. It remains unclear whether a common foreign-invested enterprise, other than such special types of enterprises as holding companies, venture capital or private equity firms, can use the converted RMB in the designated account to make equity investments if equity investment or similar activities are not within their approved business scope.
In light of the various requirements imposed by Chinese regulations on loans to and direct investment in Chinese entities by offshore holding companies as discussed above, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, or at all, with respect to future loans by us to our Chinese subsidiaries or with respect to future capital contributions by us to our Chinese subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to capitalize or otherwise fund our Chinese operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
Risks Related to the Separation
The combined post-separation value of YUM and the Company's common stock may not equal or exceed the pre-separation value of YUM common stock.
As a result of the distribution, YUM expects the trading price of YUM common stock immediately following the distribution to be lower than the "regular-way" trading price of such common stock immediately prior to the distribution because the trading price will no longer reflect the value of the business held by the Company. The aggregate market value of YUM common stock and Company common stock following the separation may be higher or lower than the market value of YUM common stock immediately prior to the separation.
32
The separation may not achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits.
We may not realize some or all of the anticipated strategic, financial, operational or other benefits from the separation. The separation and distribution is expected to provide the following benefits, among others:
We may not achieve these and other anticipated benefits for a variety of reasons, including, among others:
As independent publicly traded companies, the Company and YUM will be smaller than the combined companies pre-separation and the Company will be less diversified with business operations almost entirely in China. As a result, each company may be more vulnerable to changing market conditions, which could materially and adversely affect their respective business, financial condition and results of operations.
33
If the distribution does not qualify as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Company and YUM shareholders could be subject to significant tax liabilities, and, in certain circumstances, the Company could be required to indemnify YUM for material taxes and other related amounts pursuant to indemnification obligations under the tax matters agreement.
As discussed above, the distribution will be conditioned on YUM's receipt of opinions of outside advisors regarding the tax-free treatment of the distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The opinions will rely on various assumptions and representations as to factual matters made by YUM and us which, if inaccurate or incomplete in any material respect, would jeopardize the conclusions reached by such counsel in its opinion. The opinions will not be binding on the IRS or the courts, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or the courts will not challenge the conclusions stated in the opinions or that any such challenge would not prevail.
If, notwithstanding receipt of the opinions, the distribution were determined to be a taxable transaction, YUM would be treated as having sold shares of the Company in a taxable transaction, likely resulting in a significant taxable gain. Furthermore, YUM shareholders who receive shares of Company common stock in the distribution would be subject to tax as if they had received a taxable distribution equal to the fair market value of such shares. Pursuant to the tax matters agreement, the Company will agree to indemnify YUM for any taxes and related losses resulting from any breach of covenants regarding the preservation of the tax-free status of the distribution, certain acquisitions of our equity securities or assets, or those of certain of our subsidiaries, and any breach by us or any member of our group of certain representations in the documents delivered by us in connection with the distribution. Therefore, if the distribution fails to qualify as a transaction that is generally tax-free as a result of one of these actions or events, we may be required to make material payments to YUM under this indemnity.
YUM may be subject to Chinese indirect transfer tax with respect to the distribution, in which event the Company could be required to indemnify YUM for material taxes and related amounts pursuant to indemnification obligations under the tax matters agreement.
As noted above, Bulletin 7 provides that in certain circumstances a non-resident enterprise may be subject to Chinese enterprise income tax on an "indirect transfer" of Chinese interests. YUM has informed us that it believes that the distribution has reasonable commercial purpose and that it is more likely than not that YUM will not be subject to this tax with respect to the distribution. However, there are significant uncertainties regarding the circumstances in which the tax will apply, and there can be no assurances that the Chinese tax authorities will not seek to impose this tax on YUM.
Pursuant to the tax matters agreement, the Company will indemnify YUM for a portion (tied to the relative market capitalization of YUM and the Company) of any taxes and related losses resulting from the application of Bulletin 7 to the distribution. Alternatively, if Bulletin 7 applies to the distribution as a result of a breach by the Company or Company group members of certain representations or covenants, or due to certain actions of the Company or Company group members following the distribution, the Company generally will indemnify YUM for all such taxes and related losses. Therefore, if YUM is subject to such Chinese tax with respect to the distribution, we may be required to make material payments to YUM under this indemnity. Such payments could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Our ability to engage in strategic transactions following the separation may be limited. In addition, we could be liable for adverse tax consequences resulting from engaging in such transactions.
To preserve the tax-free treatment to YUM and its shareholders of the separation and the distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes, under the tax matters agreement that we will enter into with YUM, for a period of time following the distribution, we generally will be prohibited from
34
taking certain actions that prevent the distribution and related transactions from qualifying as a transaction that is generally tax-free, for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 361 of the Code. Under the tax matters agreement, for the two-year period following the distribution, it is expected that the Company will be prohibited, except in certain circumstances, from:
These restrictions may limit our ability to pursue certain strategic transactions or other transactions that may maximize the value of our business.
Our accounting and other management systems and resources may not be adequately prepared to meet the financial reporting and other requirements to which we will be subject following the separation and the distribution.
Our financial results previously were included within the consolidated results of YUM, and our reporting and control systems were appropriate for those of a subsidiary of a public company. Prior to the distribution, we are not directly subject to reporting and other requirements of the Exchange Act, and Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. As an independent company, we will be subject to additional reporting and other requirements, which may require, among other things, annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and a report by our independent registered public accounting firm addressing these assessments. These and other obligations may place significant demands on our management, administrative and operational resources, including accounting and IT resources.
To comply with these requirements, we may, in the foreseeable future, need to implement additional financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures, and hire additional staff. We expect to incur additional annual expenses related to these steps, which expenses may be significant. If we are unable to upgrade our financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures in a timely and effective fashion, our ability to comply with our financial reporting requirements and other rules that apply to reporting companies could be impaired. Any failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We also expect that being a public company subject to additional laws, rules and regulations will require the investment of additional resources to comply with these laws, rules and regulations. In this regard, we will incur expenses related to, among other things, director and officer liability insurance, director fees, expenses associated with our SEC reporting obligations, transfer agent fees, increased auditing and legal fees and similar expenses, which expenses may be significant.
35
Our management does not have experience managing a public company, our current resources may not be sufficient to fulfill our public company obligations and regulatory compliance may divert management's attention from the day-to-day management of our business.
Our management team does not have experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors or complying with the increasingly complex laws and requirements pertaining to public companies. These requirements include record keeping, financial reporting and corporate governance rules and regulations. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to becoming a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under U.S. federal securities laws and the scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations will require substantial attention from our management team and could divert its attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
There can be no assurance that we will have access to the capital markets on terms acceptable to us.
From time to time, we may need to access the long-term and short-term capital markets to obtain financing. Although we believe that the sources of capital in place at the time of the distribution will permit us to finance our operations for the foreseeable future on acceptable terms and conditions, our access to, and the availability of, financing on acceptable terms and conditions in the future or at all will be impacted by many factors, including, but not limited to:
There can be no assurance, particularly as a new company that currently has no credit rating, that we will have access to the capital markets on terms acceptable to us or at all.
We have no history of operating as an independent company and we expect to incur increased administrative and other costs following the separation by virtue of our status as an independent public company. Our historical and pro forma financial information is not necessarily representative of the results that we would have achieved as a separate, publicly traded company and may not be a reliable indicator of our future results.
Our historical information provided in this Information Statement refers to our business as operated by and integrated with YUM. Our historical and pro forma financial information included in this Information Statement is derived from or based on the consolidated financial statements and accounting records of YUM. Accordingly, our historical and pro forma financial information included in this Information Statement does not necessarily reflect the financial condition, results of operations or cash flows that we would have achieved as a separate, publicly traded company during the periods presented or those that we will achieve in the future primarily as a result of the following factors, among others:
36
Other significant changes may occur in our cost structure, management, financing and business operations as a result of operating as a company separate from YUM. For additional information about the past financial performance of our business and the basis of presentation of the historical combined financial statements and the unaudited pro forma combined financial statements of our business, see "Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Statements," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the historical combined and condensed combined financial statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Information Statement.
As we build our information technology infrastructure and transition our data to our own systems, we could incur substantial additional costs and experience temporary business interruptions.
After the distribution, the Company will continue to install and implement information technology infrastructure to support its critical business functions, including accounting and reporting, inventory control and distribution. We may incur temporary interruptions in business operations if we cannot transition effectively from YUM's existing transactional and operational systems and data centers. We may not be successful in implementing new systems and transitioning data, and we may incur substantially higher costs for implementation than currently anticipated. Operational interruptions that result from the implementation of these new systems and replacement of YUM's information technology services, or our failure to implement the new systems and replace YUM's services successfully, could disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our profitability. In addition, if we are unable to replicate or transition certain systems, our ability to comply with regulatory requirements could be impaired.
The master license agreement that we will enter into with YUM will limit our ability to compete with YUM following the separation and will contain other restrictions on our operations.
The master license agreement will include non-compete provisions pursuant to which we will generally agree to not compete with YUM. See "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsThe Master License AgreementNon-Competition." The master license agreement will also contain other restrictions on the operations of the Company, including restrictions on expansion outside of China of our brands licensed from YUM.
These factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
37
The Company or YUM may fail to perform under certain transaction agreements that are executed as part of the separation, and we may not have necessary systems and services in place when these transaction agreements expire.
In connection with the separation, the Company and YUM will enter into several agreements, including among others a master license agreement, a separation and distribution agreement, a tax matters agreement and an employee matters agreement. The master license agreement will establish a bilateral relationship between YUM and us for [ · ]. The separation and distribution agreement, tax matters agreement and employee matters agreement will determine the allocation of assets and liabilities between the companies following the separation for those respective areas and include any necessary indemnifications related to liabilities and obligations. If YUM is unable to satisfy its obligations under these agreements, we could incur operational difficulties or losses that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Potential indemnification liabilities owing to YUM pursuant to the separation and distribution agreement could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The separation and distribution agreement will provide for, among other things, indemnification obligations generally designed to make us financially responsible for (i) certain liabilities associated with the Company business; (ii) our failure to pay, perform or otherwise promptly discharge any such liabilities or contracts, in accordance with their respective terms, whether prior to, at or after the distribution; (iii) any guarantee, indemnification obligation, surety bond or other credit support agreement, arrangement, commitment or understanding by YUM for our benefit, unless related to liabilities primarily associated with the YUM business; (iv) certain tax liabilities; (v) any breach by us of the separation and distribution agreement or any of the ancillary agreements or any action by us in contravention of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; and (vi) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, with respect to all information contained in the registration statement of which this Information Statement forms a part (as amended or supplemented) or any other disclosure document that describes the separation or the distribution or the Company and its subsidiaries or primarily relates to the transactions contemplated by the separation and distribution agreement, subject to certain exceptions. If we are required to indemnify YUM under the circumstances set forth in the separation and distribution agreement, we may be subject to substantial liabilities. See "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsThe Separation and Distribution AgreementIndemnification."
In connection with the separation, YUM will indemnify us for certain liabilities. However, there can be no assurance that the indemnity will be sufficient to insure us against the full amount of such liabilities, or that YUM's ability to satisfy its indemnification obligation will not be impaired in the future.
Pursuant to the separation and distribution agreement and certain other agreements we will enter into with YUM, YUM will indemnify the Company for certain liabilities as discussed further in "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsThe Separation and Distribution AgreementIndemnification." However, third parties could also seek to hold us responsible for any of the liabilities that YUM has agreed to retain, and there can be no assurance that the indemnity from YUM will be sufficient to protect us against the full amount of such liabilities, or that YUM will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations. In addition, YUM's insurers may attempt to deny us coverage for liabilities associated with certain occurrences of indemnified liabilities prior to the separation. Moreover, even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from YUM or such insurance providers any amounts for which we are held liable, we may be temporarily required to bear these
38
losses. Each of these risks could negatively affect our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
A court could require that we assume responsibility for obligations allocated to YUM under the separation and distribution agreement.
Under the separation and distribution agreement and related ancillary agreements, from and after the separation, each of YUM and the Company will be generally responsible for the debts, liabilities and other obligations related to the business or businesses which they own and operate following the consummation of the separation. Although we do not expect to be liable for any obligations that are not allocated to us under the separation and distribution agreement, a court could disregard the allocation agreed to between the parties, and require that we assume responsibility for obligations allocated to YUM (for example, tax and/or environmental liabilities), particularly if YUM were to refuse or were unable to pay or perform the allocated obligations.
Potential liabilities may arise due to fraudulent transfer considerations, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In connection with the separation and distribution, YUM has undertaken and will undertake several corporate reorganization transactions involving its subsidiaries which, along with the separation and distribution, may be subject to federal and state fraudulent conveyance and transfer laws. If, under these laws, a court were to determine that, at the time of the separation and distribution, any entity involved in these reorganization transactions or the separation and distribution:
then the court could void the separation and distribution, in whole or in part, as a fraudulent conveyance or transfer. The court could then require our stockholders to return to YUM some or all of the shares of Company common stock issued in the distribution, or require YUM or the Company, as the case may be, to fund liabilities of the other company for the benefit of creditors. The measure of insolvency will vary depending upon the jurisdiction whose law is being applied. Generally, however, an entity would be considered insolvent if the fair value of its assets was less than the amount of its liabilities, or if it was unable to pay its liabilities as they mature.
After the separation, certain of our executive officers and directors may have actual or potential conflicts of interest because of their previous or continuing positions at YUM.
Because of their current or former positions with YUM, certain of our expected executive officers and directors own YUM common stock and equity awards. Following the separation, even though our board of directors will consist of a majority of directors who are independent, and our executive officers who are currently employees of YUM will cease to be employees of YUM, some of our executive officers and directors will continue to have a financial interest in YUM common stock and equity awards. Ownership could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest if the Company and YUM pursue the same corporate opportunities, have disagreements about the contracts between them or face decisions that could have different implications for the Company and YUM.
39
No vote of the YUM shareholders is required in connection with this distribution. As a result, if the distribution occurs and shareholders do not want to receive Company common stock in the distribution, the sole recourse of any shareholder will be to divest all ownership of such shareholder's YUM common stock prior to the record date.
No vote of the YUM shareholders is required in connection with the distribution. Accordingly, if a shareholder does not want to receive Company common stock in the distribution, the only recourse will be to divest all ownership of YUM common stock prior to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the record date for the distribution.
Risk Related to Our Common Stock
The Company cannot be certain that an active trading market for its common stock will develop or be sustained after the distribution, and following the distribution, the Company's stock price may fluctuate significantly.
Although we expect that Company common stock will be listed on [ · ], a public market for Company common stock does not currently exist. The Company anticipates that on or prior to the record date for the distribution, trading of shares of its common stock will begin on a "when-issued" basis which will continue through the distribution date. However, the Company cannot guarantee that an active trading market will develop or be sustained for its common stock after the distribution. Nor can the Company predict the prices at which shares of its common stock may trade after the distribution. Similarly, the Company cannot predict the effect of the distribution on the trading prices of its common stock or whether the combined market value of the shares of Company common stock and YUM common stock will be less than, equal to or greater than the market value of YUM common stock prior to the distribution.
The market price of Company common stock may decline or fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors, some of which may be beyond the Company's control, including:
There may be substantial changes in the Company's stockholder base.
Many investors holding YUM common stock may hold that stock because of a decision to invest in a company with YUM's profile. Following the distribution, the shares of Company common stock held by those investors will represent an investment in a company with a different profile. This may not be aligned with a holder's investment strategy and may cause the holder to sell the shares. As a result, the Company's stock price may decline or experience volatility as the Company's stockholder base changes.
40
The Company cannot guarantee the timing, amount or payment of dividends on its common stock.
We anticipate that following the separation, our board of directors will adopt a program of returning capital to shareholders, which may take the form of establishing a regular dividend and/or engaging in share repurchases. However, we also intend to retain a significant portion of our earnings to finance the operation, development and growth of our business. Any future determination to declare and pay cash dividends or engage in share repurchases will be at the discretion of our board of directors following the separation and will depend on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, actual or anticipated cash requirements, contractual or regulatory restrictions and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. For more information, see "Dividend Policy."
Your percentage of ownership in the Company may be diluted in the future.
In the future, your percentage ownership in the Company may be diluted because of equity awards that the Company will be granting to the Company's directors, officers and employees or otherwise as a result of equity issuances for acquisitions or capital market transactions. The Company's and YUM's employees will have options to purchase shares of its common stock after the distribution as a result of conversion of their YUM stock options (in whole or in part) to Company stock options. The Company anticipates its executive compensation committee will grant additional stock-based awards to its employees after the distribution. Such awards will have a dilutive effect on the Company's earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of Company common stock. From time to time, the Company will issue additional stock-based awards to its employees under the Company's employee benefits plans. See "Certain Relationships and Related Person TransactionsEmployee Matters AgreementEquity-Based Compensation and Certain Executive Compensation Arrangements."
In addition, the Company's amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the Company to issue, without the approval of the Company's shareholders, one or more classes or series of preferred stock that have such designation, powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, including preferences over Company common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as the Company's board of directors generally may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could dilute the voting power or reduce the value of Company common stock. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences the Company could assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of the common stock. See "Description of Capital Stock."
41
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Information Statement and other materials YUM and the Company have filed or will file with the SEC contain, or will contain, "forward-looking statements."
Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements often include words such as "may," "will," "estimate," "intend," "seek," "expect," "project," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "could," "target," "predict," "likely," "should," "forecast," "outlook," "ongoing" or other similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates, assumptions or projections concerning future results or events. Forward-looking statements are neither predictions nor guarantees of future events, circumstances or performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or projections will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from our expectations and forward-looking statements include the matters described in this Information Statement. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The forward-looking statements included in this Information Statement are only made as of the date of this Information Statement and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
42
We anticipate that following the separation, our board of directors will adopt a program of returning capital to shareholders, which may take the form of establishing a regular dividend and/or engaging in share repurchases. However, we also intend to retain a significant portion of our earnings to finance the operation, development and growth of our business. Any future determination to declare and pay cash dividends or engage in share repurchases will be at the discretion of our board of directors following the separation and will depend on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, actual or anticipated cash requirements, contractual or regulatory restrictions, tax considerations and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant.
43
The following table sets forth our capitalization on a historical basis and on a pro forma basis to give effect to the separation and distribution and the transactions related to the separation and distribution as if they occurred on December 31, 2015.
The table should be read in conjunction with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," "Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Statements" and the historical combined financial statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Information Statement.
The historical financial information may not necessarily reflect what our capitalization would have been had we been an independent, publicly traded company during the period presented and is not necessarily indicative of our future capitalization.
(in millions) |
Historical | Pro Forma | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 425 | |||||
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Equity |
|||||||
Common stock, $0.01 par value |
| ||||||
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value |
| ||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
| ||||||
Parent Company investment |
1,791 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
130 | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
Total EquityYum! China Holding, Inc. |
1,921 | ||||||
Noncontrolling interests |
58 | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
Total Equity |
1,979 | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
Total Capitalization |
$ | 1,979 | |||||
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
We have not yet finalized our post-separation capitalization. We intend to update and include pro forma financial information reflecting our post-separation capitalization in an amendment to this Information Statement.
44
UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The unaudited pro forma combined financial statements of the Company consist of the unaudited pro forma combined statement of income for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and an unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2015. The unaudited pro forma combined financial statements should be read in conjunction with "Capitalization," "Selected Historical Combined Financial Data," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," "Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions" and our historical combined financial statements included elsewhere in this Information Statement.
The unaudited pro forma combined financial statements have been prepared based on our historical combined financial statements included in this Information Statement and are not intended to be a complete presentation of our financial position or results of operations had the transactions contemplated by the separation and distribution agreement and related agreements occurred as of and for the period indicated. In addition, they are provided for illustrative and informational purposes only and are not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations or financial condition as an independent, publicly traded company. The pro forma adjustments are based upon available information and assumptions that management believes are reasonable, that reflect the expected impacts of events directly attributable to the separation and related transactions described below, and that are factually supportable, and for purposes of the pro forma combined statement of income, are expected to have a continuing impact on us. However, such adjustments are subject to change based on the finalization of the terms of the separation and related agreements.
The unaudited pro forma combined statement of income for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 reflects our results of operations as if the separation and related transactions described below had occurred on January 1, 2015. The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheet as of December 31, 2015 reflects our financial position as if the separation and related transactions described below had occurred as of such date.
The unaudited pro forma combined financial statements give effect to the following:
The operating expenses reported in our historical combined statements of income include allocations of certain YUM costs. These costs include allocation of certain YUM costs for centralized corporate functions performed on our behalf.
These historical allocations may not be indicative of our future costs and we have not adjusted the accompanying unaudited pro forma combined financial statements to reflect any independent public company costs as such amounts are estimates and not factually supportable.
45
Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Statement of Income
Yum! China Holding, Inc.
For the year ended December 31, 2015
(in millions, except per share data)
|
Historical | Pro Forma Adjustments |
Pro Forma | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenues |
||||||||||
Company sales |
$ | 6,789 | ||||||||
Franchise and license fees and income |
120 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total revenues |
6,909 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Costs and Expenses, Net |
||||||||||
Company restaurants |
||||||||||
Food and paper |
2,159 | |||||||||
Payroll and employee benefits |
1,386 | |||||||||
Occupancy and other operating expenses |
2,386 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Company restaurant expenses |
5,931 | |||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
395 | |||||||||
Franchise and license expenses |
70 | |||||||||
Closures and impairment expenses, net |
64 | |||||||||
Refranchising gain, net |
(13 | ) | ||||||||
Other income, net |
(26 | ) | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total costs and expenses, net |
6,421 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Operating Profit |
488 | |||||||||
Interest income, net |
8 |
|||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Income Before Income Taxes |
496 | |||||||||
Income tax provision |
(168 |
) |
||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Net Income (loss)including noncontrolling interests |
328 | |||||||||
Net Income (loss)noncontrolling interests |
5 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Net Income (loss)Yum! China Holding, Inc. |
$ | 323 | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Pro Forma net earnings per share: |
||||||||||
Basic |
N/A | |||||||||
Diluted |
N/A | |||||||||
Shares used to calculate Pro Forma net earnings per share |
||||||||||
Basic |
N/A | |||||||||
Diluted |
N/A |
See accompanying Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Statements
46
Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Balance Sheet
Yum! China Holding, Inc.
As of December 31, 2015
(in millions)
|
Historical | Pro Forma Adjustments |
Pro Forma |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ASSETS |
||||||||||
Current Assets |
||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 425 | ||||||||
Accounts receivable, net |
76 | |||||||||
Inventories |
189 | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
109 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Current Assets |
799 | |||||||||
Property, plant and equipment, net |
1,841 |
|||||||||
Goodwill |
85 | |||||||||
Intangible assets, net |
107 | |||||||||
Investments in unconsolidated affiliates |
61 | |||||||||
Other assets |
192 | |||||||||
Deferred income taxes |
116 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Assets |
$ | 3,201 | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTEREST AND EQUITY |
||||||||||
Current Liabilities |
||||||||||
Accounts payable and other current liabilities |
$ | 926 | ||||||||
Income taxes payable |
22 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Current Liabilities |
948 | |||||||||
Capital lease obligations |
34 |
|||||||||
Other liabilities and deferred credits |
234 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Liabilities |
1,216 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest |
6 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Equity |
||||||||||
Common stock, $0.01 par value |
| |||||||||
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value |
| |||||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
| |||||||||
Parent Company investment |
1,791 | |||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
130 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total EquityYum! China Holding, Inc. |
1,921 | |||||||||
Noncontrolling interests |
58 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Equity |
1,979 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Equity |
$ | 3,201 | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
See accompanying Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Statements
47
SELECTED HISTORICAL COMBINED FINANCIAL DATA
The following table presents our selected historical combined financial data. We derived the combined statements of income data for the three years ended December 31, 2015, and the combined balance sheets data as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, as set forth below, from our audited combined financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Information Statement. We derived the combined statements of income for the years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, and the combined balance sheets data as of December 31, 2013, December 31, 2012, and December 31, 2011, from our unaudited combined financial statements that are not included in this Information Statement.
Our combined financial information may not necessarily reflect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows as if we had operated as an independent public company during all periods presented, including changes that will occur in our operations and capitalization as a result of the separation from YUM and the distribution. Accordingly, our historical results should not be relied upon as an indicator of our future performance.
The following tables should be read together with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, the historical combined financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Information Statement. Among other things, the historical combined financial statements include more detailed information regarding the basis of presentation for the information in the following table. The tables should also be read together with the sections entitled "Capitalization," "Unaudited Pro Forma
48
Combined Financial Statements" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."
For fiscal years ended and as of: (in millions, except for unit data) |
December 31, 2015 |
December 31, 2014 |
December 31, 2013 |
December 31, 2012 |
December 31, 2011 |
|||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combined Statements of Income (Loss) Data: |
||||||||||||||||
Revenues |
||||||||||||||||
Company sales |
$ | 6,789 | $ | 6,821 | $ | 6,800 | $ | 6,797 | $ | 5,487 | ||||||
Franchise fees and income |
120 | 113 | 105 | 101 | 79 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total revenues |
6,909 | 6,934 | 6,905 | 6,898 | 5,566 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Costs and Expenses, Net |
||||||||||||||||
Company restaurants |
||||||||||||||||
Food and paper |
2,159 | 2,207 | 2,258 | 2,312 | 1,947 | |||||||||||
Payroll and employee benefits |
1,386 | 1,407 | 1,360 | 1,259 | 890 | |||||||||||
Occupancy and other operating expenses(a) |
2,386 | 2,415 | 2,347 | 2,210 | 1,747 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Company restaurant expenses |
5,931 | 6,029 | 5,965 | 5,781 | 4,584 | |||||||||||
General and administrative expenses(b) |
395 | 389 | 356 | 336 | 278 | |||||||||||
Franchise expenses(c) |
70 | 64 | 60 | 55 | 43 | |||||||||||
Closures and impairment expenses, net |
64 | 517 | 325 | 9 | 12 | |||||||||||
Refranchising gain, net(d) |
(13 | ) | (17 | ) | (5 | ) | (17 | ) | (14 | ) | ||||||
Other income, net |
(26 | ) | (51 | ) | (25 | ) | (112 | ) | (42 | ) | ||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total costs and expenses, net |
6,421 | 6,931 | 6,676 | 6,052 | 4,861 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Operating Profit(e) |
488 | 3 | 229 | 846 | 705 | |||||||||||
Interest income, net |
8 |
14 |
5 |
8 |
9 |
|||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Income Before Income Taxes |
496 | 17 | 234 | 854 | 714 | |||||||||||
Income tax provision |
(168 |
) |
(54 |
) |
(135 |
) |
(181 |
) |
(169 |
) |
||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net Income (loss)including noncontrolling interests |
328 | (37 | ) | 99 | 673 | 545 | ||||||||||
Net Income (loss)noncontrolling interests |
5 | (30 | ) | (27 | ) | 11 | 16 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net Income (loss)Yum! China Holding, Inc.(e) |
$ | 323 | $ | (7 | ) | $ | 126 | $ | 662 | $ | 529 | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Combined Balance Sheets Data: |
||||||||||||||||
Total assets |
$ | 3,201 | $ | 3,257 | $ | 3,750 | $ | 3,782 | $ | 2,916 | ||||||
Property, plant and equipment, net |
1,841 | 2,001 | 1,979 | 1,810 | 1,370 | |||||||||||
Parent Company investment |
1,791 | 1,671 | 2,014 | 2,012 | 1,343 | |||||||||||
Other Statistics |
||||||||||||||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ | 910 | $ | 775 | 782 | $ | 871 | 931 | ||||||||
Capital spending |
512 | 525 | 568 | 655 | 405 | |||||||||||
Number of restaurants |
7,176 | 6,715 | 6,243 | 5,726 | 4,493 |
49
and 2013, respectively. Excluding these impairments, Net income (loss)Yum! China Holding, Inc. was income of $354 million and $384 million in 2014 and 2013, respectively. Operating profit in 2012 includes a $74 million gain in 2012 related to the acquisition of additional interest in and resulting consolidation of Little Sheep with no associated tax expense. Excluding this gain, Net Income (loss)Yum! China Holding, Inc. was $588 million in 2012.
50
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") should be read in conjunction with the Combined Financial Statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Information Statement for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). This MD&A includes the following sections:
Certain of the statements below are forward-looking statements. In addition, any projections of future results of operations and cash flows are subject to substantial uncertainty. See "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" included elsewhere in this Information Statement.
Separation and Distribution
On October 20, 2015, YUM announced that it intended to separate into two independent publicly traded companies each with a separate strategic focus. YUM plans to distribute to its shareholders all outstanding shares of the Company held by YUM on the distribution date, a wholly owned subsidiary of YUM, which will hold, directly or indirectly, the assets and liabilities associated with YUM's operations in China. The separation transaction will be completed by way of a pro rata distribution of Company shares by YUM to its shareholders as of the record date. Completion of the transaction will be subject to certain conditions, including, among others, receiving final approval from YUM's board of directors, receipt of various regulatory approvals, receipt of opinions of YUM's external tax advisors with respect to certain tax matters, the effectiveness of filings related to public listing in the United States of America and applicable securities laws, and other terms and conditions as may be determined by YUM's board of directors. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2016 and is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The transaction will not require YUM shareholder approval.
The Combined Financial Statements have been prepared on a stand-alone basis and are derived from YUM's Consolidated Financial Statements and underlying accounting records. Transactions between the Company and YUM that were not cash settled were considered to be effectively settled at the time the transactions were recorded.
The Combined Financial Statements include all revenues, costs, assets and liabilities directly attributable to the Company either through specific identification or allocation. The Combined Statements of Income include allocations of certain of YUM's Corporate functions which provide a direct benefit to the Company. These costs have been allocated based on system sales of the Company relative to YUM's global system sales. All allocated costs have been deemed to have been incurred and settled in the period in which the costs were recorded. The Company considers the expense allocation
51
methodology and results to be reasonable for all periods presented. However, the allocations may not be indicative of the actual expense that would have been incurred had the Company operated as an independent, publicly traded company for the periods presented. Following the separation, we will perform these functions using our own resources or purchased services. See Note 3 to the Combined Financial Statements for further discussion.
Overview
Yum! China Holding, Inc. is the largest restaurant company in China, with approximately 7,200 restaurants, $6.9 billion of revenue, net income of $323 million and $998 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2015. Our growing restaurant base consists of China's leading restaurant brands, including KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, East Dawning and Little Sheep. Following our separation from Yum! Brands, we will have the exclusive right to operate, sub-franchise and license the KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service and Taco Bell brands in China, and will own the East Dawning and Little Sheep concepts outright. We were the first major global restaurant brand to enter China in 1987 and have developed deep experience operating in the market. We have since grown to become one of China's largest retail developers covering over 1,100 cities and opening an average of two new locations per day over the past five years.
KFC is the leading Quick-Service Restaurant ("QSR") brand in China. Today, KFC operates over 5,000 restaurants in over 1,100 cities across China. Measured by number of restaurants, KFC has a two-to-one lead over the nearest Western QSR competitor and continues to grow in both large and small cities. Similarly, Pizza Hut Casual Dining is the leading Casual Dining Restaurant ("CDR") brand in China. Today, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, with nearly 1,600 restaurants in over 400 cities, has a seven-to-one lead in terms of restaurants over its nearest Western CDR competitor.
The operations of each of the concepts represent an operating segment of the Company within these Combined Financial Statements. We have two reportable segments: KFC and Pizza Hut Casual Dining. Our remaining operating segments, including the operations of Pizza Hut Home Service, East Dawning and Little Sheep, are combined and referred to as All Other Segments, as those operating segments are individually insignificant.
We intend for this MD&A to provide the reader with information that will assist in understanding our results of operations, including performance metrics that management uses to assess the Company's performance. Throughout this MD&A, we commonly discuss the following performance metrics:
52
All Note references herein refer to the Notes to the Combined Financial Statements. Tabular amounts are displayed in millions of U.S. dollars except per share and unit count amounts, or as otherwise specifically identified. Percentages may not recompute due to rounding.
Results of Operations
Summary
All comparisons within this summary are versus the same period a year ago and exclude the impact of Special Items. All system sales growth and Operating Profit comparisons exclude the impact of foreign currency.
In 2013, KFC China sales and profits were negatively impacted due to intense media surrounding an investigation by the Shanghai FDA into our poultry supply that began in 2012, coupled with additional intense media in April 2013 surrounding avian flu in China.
In 2014, the Company's sales and profits were significantly impacted by adverse publicity surrounding improper food handling practices by a former supplier. Specifically, on July 20, 2014, an undercover report was televised in China depicting improper food handling practices by supplier Shanghai Husi, a division of OSI, which is a large, global supplier to many in the restaurant industry. This triggered extensive news coverage in China that shook consumer confidence and impacted brand usage. Immediately following the incident, we experienced a significant, negative impact to sales and profits at both KFC and Pizza Hut Casual Dining. For further information about the potential impact of food safety risks on our business, see "Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Business and IndustryFood safety and food-borne illness concerns may have an adverse effect on our business."
In 2015, we expected sales and profits to grow significantly in the second half as we recovered from the adverse publicity in July 2014. Sales initially turned significantly positive as we lapped the supplier incident, but overall sales in the second half of 2015 trailed our expectations, particularly at Pizza Hut Casual Dining. In the second half of 2015, KFC grew same-store sales 3% in the third
53
quarter and 6% in the fourth quarter, which was below our forecasts. Over the same period, Pizza Hut Casual Dining experienced same-store sales declines of 1% in the third quarter and 8% in the fourth quarter. We believe that this performance was driven primarily by (1) extraordinary volatility in financial markets, currency devaluation and overall softer economic conditions which weigh more heavily on the casual dining sector; (2) the impact of online delivery aggregators entering the casual dining space; and (3) marketing promotions which underperformed our expectations.
The Combined Results of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are presented below:
|
|
|
|
% B/(W) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||
Company sales |
$ | 6,789 | $ | 6,821 | $ | 6,800 | | | |||||
Franchise fees and income |
120 | 113 | 105 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total revenues |
$ | 6,909 | $ | 6,934 | $ | 6,905 | | | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Restaurant profit |
$ | 858 | $ | 792 | $ | 835 | 8 | (5) | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Restaurant Margin % |
12.6 | % | 11.6 | % | 12.3 | % | 1.0 ppts. | (0.7) ppts. | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Operating Profit |
$ | 488 | $ | 3 | $ | 229 | NM | (99) | |||||
Interest income, net |
8 | 14 | 5 | 46 | NM | ||||||||
Income tax provision |
(168 | ) | (54 | ) | (135 | ) | NM | 60 | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net Incomeincluding noncontrolling interests |
328 | (37 | ) | 99 | NM | NM | |||||||
Net Income (loss)noncontrolling interests |
5 | (30 | ) | (27 | ) | NM | (12) | ||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net IncomeYum! China Holding, Inc. |
$ | 323 | $ | (7 | ) | $ | 126 | NM | NM | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Reported Effective tax rate |
33.9 | % | 322.3 | % | 57.5 | % | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Operating Profit before Special Items |
$ | 503 | $ | 466 | $ | 524 | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Effective tax rate before Special Items |
33.7 | % | 26.8 | % | 28.9 | % | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 998 | 931 | 949 | |||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
2015 | 2014 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
System Sales Growth |
| % | 1 | % | |||
System Sales Growth, excluding FX |
2 | % | 1 | % | |||
Same-store Sales Growth (Decline)% |
(4 | )% | (5 | )% |
|
|
|
|
% Increase (Decrease) |
||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unit Count
|
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||
Company-owned |
5,768 | 5,417 | 5,026 | 6 | 8 | |||||||||||
Unconsolidated affiliates |
796 | 757 | 716 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||
Franchise |
612 | 541 | 501 | 13 | 8 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
7,176 | 6,715 | 6,243 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
54
Special Items
Special Items, along with the reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measure, are presented below.
|
Year | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Detail of Special Items
|
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | |||||||
Little Sheep impairment (See Note 4) |
| (463 | ) | (295 | ) | |||||
Losses associated with planned sale of aircraft (See Note 6) |
(15 | ) | | | ||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Special Items Income (Expense)Operating Profit |
(15 | ) | (463 | ) | (295 | ) | ||||
Tax Benefit (Expense) on Special Items(a) |
4 | 76 | 18 | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Special Items Income (Expense), net of taxincluding noncontrolling interests |
(11 | ) | (387 | ) | (277 | ) | ||||
Special Items Income (Expense), net of taxnoncontrolling interests |
| 26 | 19 | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Special Items Income (Expense), net of taxYum! China Holding, Inc. |
$ | (11 | ) | $ | (361 | ) | $ | (258 | ) | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Reconciliation of Operating Profit Before Special Items to Reported Operating Profit |
||||||||||
Operating Profit before Special Items |
$ | 503 | $ | 466 | $ | 524 | ||||
Special Items ExpenseOperating Profit |
(15 | ) | (463 | ) | (295 | ) | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Reported Operating Profit |
$ | 488 | $ | 3 | $ | 229 | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Reconciliation of Effective Tax Rate Before Special Items to Reported Effective Tax Rate |
||||||||||
Effective Tax Rate before Special Items |
33.7 | % | 26.8 | % | 28.9 | % | ||||
Impact on Tax Rate as a result of Special Items(a) |
0.2 | % | 295.5 | % | 28.6 | % | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Reported Effective Tax Rate (See Note 14) |
33.9 | % | 322.3 | % | 57.5 | % | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA, along with the reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measure, is presented below.
|
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reconciliation of Reported Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA |
||||||||||
Net Income (loss)Yum! China Holding, Inc. |
$ | 323 | $ | (7 | ) | $ | 126 | |||
Net income (loss)noncontrolling interests |
5 | (30 | ) | (27 | ) | |||||
Income tax provision |
168 | 54 | 135 | |||||||
Interest income, net |
(8 | ) | (14 | ) | (5 | ) | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Reported Operating Profit |
488 | 3 | 229 | |||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
425 | 411 | 394 | |||||||
Store impairment charges (See Note 4) |
70 | 54 | 31 | |||||||
Special Items ExpenseOperating Profit |
15 | 463 | 295 | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ | 998 | $ | 931 | $ | 949 | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
55
KFC
|
|
|
|
% B/(W) | % B/(W) | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
2015 | 2014 | ||||||||||||
|
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | Reported | Ex FX | Reported | Ex FX | ||||||||||
Company sales |
$ | 4,652 | $ | 4,782 | $ | 4,892 | (3) | (1) | (2) | (2) | |||||||
Franchise fees and income |
116 | 111 | 103 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total revenues |
$ | 4,768 | $ | 4,893 | $ | 4,995 | (3) | (1) | (2) | (2) | |||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Restaurant profit |
$ | 620 | $ | 559 | $ | 557 | 11 | 14 | | 1 | |||||||
Restaurant margin % |
13.3 | % | 11.7 | % | 11.4 | % | 1.6 ppts. | 1.7 ppts. | 0.3 ppts. | 0.3 ppts. | |||||||
G&A expenses |
$ |
150 |
$ |
150 |
$ |
137 |
|
(2) |
(9) |
(10) |
|||||||
Closure and impairment expenses, net |
$ | 50 | $ | 41 | $ | 23 | (22) | (26) | (74) | (76) | |||||||
Operating Profit |
$ | 499 | $ | 435 | $ | 456 | 14 | 18 | (5) | (4) |
|
2015 | 2014 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
System Sales Growth |
(2 | )% | (1 | )% | |||
System Sales Growth, excluding FX |
| % | (1 | )% | |||
Same-Store Sales Growth (Decline)% |
(4 | )% | (4 | )% |
|
|
|
|
% Increase (Decrease) | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unit Count
|
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||
Company-owned |
3,821 | 3,732 | 3,569 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||
Unconsolidated affiliates |
796 | 757 | 716 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||
Franchise |
386 | 339 | 278 | 14 | 22 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
5,003 | 4,828 | 4,563 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
2014 | New Builds | Closures | Refranchised | Acquired | Other | 2015 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Company-owned |
3,732 | 282 | (144 | ) | (52 | ) | 3 | | 3,821 | |||||||||||||
Unconsolidated affiliates |
757 | 58 | (15 | ) | | | (4 | ) | 796 | |||||||||||||
Franchise |
339 | 11 | (17 | ) | 52 | (3 | ) | 4 | 386 | |||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total |
4,828 | 351 | (176 | ) | | | | 5,003 | ||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
2013 | New Builds | Closures | Refranchised | Acquired | Other | 2014 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Company-owned |
3,569 | 318 | (91 | ) | (65 | ) | 1 | | 3,732 | |||||||||||||
Unconsolidated affiliates |
716 | 56 | (14 | ) | (1 | ) | | | 757 | |||||||||||||
Franchise |
278 | 2 | (6 | ) | 66 | (1 | ) | | 339 | |||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total |
4,563 | 376 | (111 | ) | | | | 4,828 | ||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
56
Company Sales and Restaurant Profit
The changes in Company sales and Restaurant profit were as follows:
|
2015 vs. 2014 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income / (Expense)
|
2014 | Store Portfolio Actions | Other | FX | 2015 | |||||||||||
Company sales |
$ | 4,782 | $ | 137 | $ | (176 | ) | $ | (91 | ) | $ | 4,652 | ||||
Cost of sales |
(1,584 | ) | (40 | ) | 83 | 29 | (1,512 | ) | ||||||||
Cost of labor |
(963 | ) | (18 | ) | 60 | 18 | (903 | ) | ||||||||
Occupancy and other |
(1,676 | ) | (42 | ) | 69 | 32 | (1,617 | ) | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Restaurant profit |
$ | 559 | $ | 37 | $ | 36 | $ | (12 | ) | $ | 620 | |||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
2014 vs. 2013 | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income / (Expense)
|
2013 | Store Portfolio Actions |
Other | FX | 2014 | |||||||||||
Company sales |
$ | 4,892 | $ | 117 | $ | (216 | ) | $ | (11 | ) | $ | 4,782 | ||||
Cost of sales |
(1,682 | ) | (36 | ) | 130 | 4 | (1,584 | ) | ||||||||
Cost of labor |
(970 | ) | (21 | ) | 26 | 2 | (963 | ) | ||||||||
Occupancy and other |
(1,683 | ) | (43 | ) | 47 | 3 | (1,676 | ) | ||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Restaurant profit |
$ | 557 | $ | 17 | $ | (13 | ) | $ | (2 | ) | $ | 559 | ||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | |