Pizza Hut could soon be up for sale.

Yum Brands, Pizza Hut’s parent company, earlier this week said that it’s conducting a formal review of options for the brand, including a possible sale. The chain has struggled to compete in a crowded pizza market.

Yum CEO Chris Turner said Pizza Hut has many strengths, including a global footprint and strong growth in many markets.

Pizza Hut has nearly 20,000 stores in more than 100 countries, and its international sales were up 2 percent in the first nine months of this year. China is its second-largest market outside of the United States.

Pizza Hut, however, gets nearly half its sales from the U.S., where it has around 6,500 stores.

Sales in the U.S. fell 7 percent in the same period.

Pizza Hut was long saddled with large, outdated dine-in restaurants at a time when consumers want fast pickup and delivery.

In 2020, one of Pizza Hut’s largest franchisees filed for bankruptcy protection and closed 300 stores. Pizza Hut now controls 15.5 percent of American pizza chain sales, down from 19.4 percent in 2019, according to Technomic, a food-service consulting company.

“The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum Brands,” Turner said in a statement. “To truly take advantage of the brand we’ve built and the opportunities ahead, we’ve made the decision to initiate a thorough review of strategic options.”

Yum has not set a deadline for the completion of the review. The company said it will not make any further comments on the review.

Yum Brands shares were up nearly 7 percent in early afternoon trading Tuesday. The company also owns KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill.

Yum earlier this week said that its third-quarter revenue rose 8 percent thanks to strong sales at both KFC and Taco Bell.

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kan., by two brothers who borrowed $600 from their mother to open the store.