Looking to buy into the No. 2 pizza chain’s franchise system? EYM Pizza, a troubled Pizza Hut franchisee that filed for bankruptcy in July, plans to sell more than 125 stores as it undergoes financial restructuring, according to QSR.

EYM will sell 127 Pizza Hut stores in five states—Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Georgia. The company has partnered with National Franchise Sales to find qualified buyers and facilitate the sale, QSR reports, with the goal of maximizing recovery for creditors and keeping the restaurants in business.

“National Franchise Sales is dedicated to navigating this challenging period with EYM Pizza L.P. and its affiliates. Our goal is to ensure a smooth transition and maximize value for all parties impacted by this process,” Alan Gallup, lead advisor for the NFS Asset Recovery Team, said in a statement to QSR.

EYM and Pizza Hut have been embroiled in legal battles over the past couple of years. The situation heated up on June 24, when Pizza Hut abruptly closed down 15 EYM-franchised stores in Northwest Indiana.

Pizza Hut sued EYM earlier this year, alleging financial mismanagement, including poor operational standards and failure to make timely payments. For its part, EYM has accused Pizza Hut of failing to modernize and stay on top of the latest technologies.

EYM filed for bankruptcy in July 2024.

QSR reports that Pizza Hut saw a 7% increase in systemwide same-store sales from 2019 to 2023, while EYM’s locations posted a decline of 10% during that same period. EYM’s stores also reportedly failed quality assessments at a rate significantly higher than the average Pizza Hut franchise.

EYM Pizza isn’t the only major Pizza Hut franchisee to file for bankruptcy in recent years. NPC International was the chain’s largest franchisee, with more than 1,200 stores, when it filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2020. NPC, which also owned nearly 400 Wendy’s locations, was sold to Flynn Restaurant Group and Wendy’s International in March 2021.