Chinese hot pot chain Little Sheep is set to fall under US-based Yum! Brands ownership.

Shareholders of the 700-strong food chain have finally approved a takeover offer lodged last May.

Little Sheep, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, has been listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange since June 2008. The takeover process is expected to be sanctioned by Grand Court of Cayman Islands on January 20.

Yum! will offer HK$6.50 per share to Little Sheep’s independent shareholders as it seeks to delist the hot pot chain and gain a 93 per cent stake in the company.

“I believe that the strong capability and expertise Yum! possesses in managing world class brands and growing restaurant networks will significantly further Little Sheep’s development in China and overseas, and should leave us well positioned to develop into an internationally-recognised restaurant chain,” said Zhang Gang, Little Sheep’s chairman.

Gang and Chen Hongkai, a non-executive director of Little Sheep, will continue to work in the company after the acquisition has been finalised.

According to a press release, Yum! will privatise Little Sheep effective February 1.

“We are pleased to see that the independent Little Sheep shareholders value the offer provided by Yum,” Jing-Shyh Sam Su, chairman and CEO of Yum Restaurants China and VP of Yum! Brands.

“We have a strong commitment to the China market and to the Little Sheep brand. We are confident we can further strengthen Little Sheep’s brand, business model and market position.”

Mongolia-based Little Sheep was established in 1999. Currently, the hot pot eatery has now more than 700 locations across China.

Meanwhile, Yum!, which opened first outlet in China in 1987, has now nearly 3500 KFC restaurants and about 560 Pizza Hut in the country.