Six buyers will pay $11.78 million to acquire 77 Pizza Hut restaurants out of bankruptcy from franchisee EYM Group, according to a court filing.

One of the bidders is Pizza Hut, which will spend $720,000 to buy 18 stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Aditya “Eddie” Pannu of PZH Foods successfully bid $5.7 million on 21 restaurants across Georgia, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Neil Patel of NRP, LLC and Kenny Patel of KK MGMT, LLC will spend $3.85 million to get 20 locations in Illinois.

Asad “Adam” Mitha of Valor Pizza will spend $950,000 on seven restaurants in Georgia and South Carolina; Shantilal “Shawn” Patel will spend $250,000 on five units in Illinois; and Mark Dillon of PH Hospitality Group will spend $310,000 on six locations in Wisconsin.

A sale approval hearing will be held on February 12.

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EYM had roughly 140 Pizza Hut units when it declared bankruptcy in July. The 60-plus units that weren’t part of the bidding process have closed.

The franchisee entered court proceedings after facing a lawsuit from Pizza Hut. The pizza giant alleged multiple breaches of its franchise agreement, including mismanagement and failure to meet contractual obligations. Some notable breaches included delaying putting its Georgia and South Carolina restaurants on the market and neglecting to pursue multiple letters of intent from potential buyers; repeatedly missing deadlines for required payments during a forbearance period; and restaurants performing poorly.

Pizza Hut claimed EYM’s actions damaged its brand and sought legal intervention to revoke its franchise rights.

From 2019 to 2023, while Pizza Hut’s overall system saw a 7 percent increase in same-store sales, EYM’s locations experienced a 10 percent decline—a 17 percent disparity. Operational performance also fell short, with EYM’s restaurants failing quality assessments at a rate significantly higher than the average Pizza Hut franchise.

As part of bankruptcy proceedings, EYM planned to sell all 127 of its locations with the help of National Franchise Sales.

EYM entered the Pizza system in 2016 when it bought franchisee territories in Illinois for $10.85 million and Indiana for $8.67 million. The group followed that up with the acquisition of stores in Georgia and South Carolina for $9.02 million. In 2018, EYM took over units in Wisconsin for $6.88 million and bought another 16 restaurants for $1.56 million

Fast Food, Finance, Legal, Pizza, Story, Pizza Hut