Exhibit
99.2
YUM!
BRANDS APPOINTS THOMAS C. NELSON TO BOARD; ANNOUNCES NEW $500 MILLION SHARE
BUYBACK AND DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
Louisville,
Ky (November 18, 2005) -Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) announced today the
appointment of Thomas C. Nelson, 43, to its Board of Directors. Nelson is the
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Gypsum Company
based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The appointment will become effective at
the
Company's next Board meeting on January 26, 2006.
"Tom
Nelson will make an outstanding addition to the Yum! Brands Board of Directors.
Tom heads one of the leading suppliers of building and construction products
and
has a demonstrated leadership capability and distinguished financial experience.
As we continue to grow our system around the globe, Tom's specific expertise
and
financial acumen will complement our efforts to manage costs and build new
restaurants efficiently," said David C. Novak, Yum! Brands Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer.
Nelson
was elected Vice Chairman of National Gypsum's Board in 1996 and served as
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1995 to 1999. He
was
appointed President and CEO in July 1999 and Chairman in 2004. Nelson serves
on
the Board of the Business Roundtable, the G100, and is Chair of the Policy
Advisory Board at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.
He
also serves as a director of A4 Health Systems as well as Belk, Inc., the
nation's largest privately-held department store company. Active in the
Charlotte community, Nelson serves on the boards of the Boy Scouts, Foundation
for the Carolinas, Charlotte Chamber, United Way of Central Carolinas and
Carolinas HealthCare System.
In
addition to his work with National Gypsum, Nelson has been an active private
equity investor for almost twenty years. He is a General Partner and Co-Founder
of Wakefield Group, a North Carolina-based venture capital firm. Selected as
a
White House Fellow, he served as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for
Special Projects from 1992-1993, and was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal
for Outstanding Public Service.
SHARE
REPURCHASE
The
company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional
$500 million of the company's outstanding common stock over a period of up
to 12
months. In May 2005, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million
of the company's stock. This program is in the process of being completed.
"The
Board's action reflects the belief that the company's shares represent an
outstanding long-term investment opportunity," said Rick Carucci, Yum! Brands'
Chief Financial Officer.
Repurchases
of common stock may be made from time to time in open market and/or privately
negotiated transactions and will be subject to market conditions and other
factors. Since the company began its share repurchase program in 1999, nearly
74
million shares have been repurchased for approximately $2.4 billion at an
average price of $32.88.
DIVIDEND
DECLARED
YUM
announced that its Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.115 per share
of
common stock, which will be distributed February 3, 2006, to stockholders of
record at the close of business January 13, 2006.
This
announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include those identified
by
such words as may, will, expect, project, anticipate, believe, plan and other
similar terminology. These "forward-looking" statements reflect management's
current expectations regarding future events and operating and financial
performance and are based on currently available data. However, actual results
are subject to future events and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ from those projected in this announcement. Accordingly, you are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Factors
that can cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited
to, changes in global and local business, economic and political conditions
in
the countries and territories where Yum! Brands operates, including the effects
of war and terrorist activities; changes in currency exchange and interest
rates; changes in commodity, labor and other operating costs; changes in
competition in the food industry, consumer preferences or perceptions concerning
the products of the company and/or our competitors, spending patterns and
demographic trends; the impact that any widespread illness or general health
concern may have on our business and the economy of the countries in which
we
operate; the effectiveness of our operating initiatives and marketing,
advertising and promotional efforts; new-product and concept development by
Yum!
Brands and other food-industry competitors; the success of our strategies for
refranchising and international development and operations; the ongoing business
viability of our franchise and license operators; our ability to secure
distribution to our restaurants at competitive rates and to ensure adequate
supplies of restaurant products and equipment in our stores; unexpected
disruptions in our supply chain; publicity that may impact our business and/or
industry; severe weather conditions; effects and outcomes of pending or future
legal claims involving the company; changes in effective tax rates; our
actuarially determined casualty loss estimates; new legislation and governmental
regulations or changes in legislation and regulations and the consequent impact
on our business; and changes in accounting policies and practices. Further
information about factors that could affect Yum! Brands' financial and other
results are included in the company's Forms 10-Q and 10-K, filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Yum!
Brands Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's largest restaurant
company in terms of system restaurants with more than 34,000 restaurants in
more
than 100 countries and territories. Four of the company's restaurant brands
-
KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's - are the global leaders of
the
chicken, pizza, Mexican-style food and quick-service seafood categories
respectively. Yum! Brands is the worldwide leader in multibranding, which offers
consumers more choice and convenience at one restaurant location from a
combination of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, A&W or Long John Silver's brands.
The company and its franchisees today operate over 2,800 multibrand restaurants.
Outside the United States in 2004, the Yum! Brands' system opened about three
new restaurants each day of the year, making it one of the fastest growing
retailers in the world. In 2002, the company changed its name to Yum! Brands
Inc. from Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. to reflect its expanding portfolio
of
brands and its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange. For the past three
years, the company has been recognized in Fortune Magazine's top 50 "Best
Companies for Minorities," claiming the number-one spot for "managerial
diversity." It also has been named as one of the leading companies for diversity
by Black Enterprise Magazine.