Louisville, Kentucky—May 2002 — Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) on May 16 announced it received shareholders’ approval to change its corporate name to Yum! Brands, Inc. The company’s international business will now be called Yum! Restaurants International. The vote came at the company’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting held in Louisville, KY. The name change is effective as of 5:00 p.m. EDT May 16.
“Yum! Brands better reflects our expanding portfolio of brands and the unique fun and recognition culture we are driving across our global company,” said David Novak, Yum! Brands chairman and chief executive officer. “It also represents our ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange, and reinforces our Customer Mania passion to put a ‘Yum’ on our customers faces all around the world.”
Last week, the company announced both the completion of its acquisition of Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food Restaurants from Yorkshire Global Restaurants, and a two-for-one split of its outstanding shares of common stock with a record date of June 6, 2002.
The acquisition of Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food Restaurants accelerates the company’s multi-branding strategy of offering consumers two brands and more choice in one restaurant. Yum! Brands already is the worldwide leader in multi-branding, with 1,500 such restaurants generating $1.5 billion in annual system sales from various combinations of its category-leading restaurant brands.
“Our customers love the choice and variety offers, and our returns far exceed our cost of capital, making multi-branding a win-win for our customers and shareholders alike. We view multi-branding as a key enabler to accelerate the renewal of our existing asset base in the United States,” said Novak.