Yum! Brands has approved its separation from its China business counterpart.

The Louisville-based company said that the new group will be called Yum China Holdings. The separation will happen after the close on Oct. 31 and Yum China will also start trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol YUMC. Yum planned that the spinoff will be a tax-free distribution to shareholders.

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In addition, Yum is also increasing its dividend by 11 percent, according to Business Insider. The company increased the quarterly dividend to $0.51 a share, an increase of a nickel per share. This is payable on Nov. 4 to shareholders of records when it closes on Oct. 19. 

“This is an exciting time for Yum China as we approach our launch as a new, independent public company," Yum China CEO Micky Pant said. "Yum China has a leading position in the Chinese market, and we see tremendous opportunities to leverage our well-recognized brands and decades of experience to drive growth."

"We are all energized to achieve Yum China’s full potential and create sustained value for shareholders,” he added.

Since announcing its intention to separate Yum China, Yum! Brands repurchased roughly $5.1 billion in shares at an average price of $80 while it has reduced its share count by about 15 percent as of Sep. 23. In addition, the company plans to buy back an additional $1.1 billion of its stock before the end of 2016 to attain its previously announced plan to return $6.2 billion of capital to its shareholders in relation with the parting of its China business.

Yum China Holdings will have the exclusive rights to Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell brands in China, Nasdaq reported. Apart from these American food outlets, the Chinese Yum counterpart will also add new brands such as Little Sheep and East Dawning concepts. 

Currently, Yum China has over 7,200 restaurants in more than 1,100 cities in the country. It can triple its unit count in the long term and it is expected that to be the world’s largest market for restaurant chains.

TagsYum! Brands, Yum China, Yum China Holdings, KFC, pizza hut, Taco Bell, Yum china business