YUM! Brands Inc on Wednesday said it has completed its purchase of China's hotpot chain, Little Sheep Group Co, as it expands its presence in the country to offer diners more local tastes.

Little Sheep, which owns nearly 470 restaurants in the Chinese mainland, will be delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday and become a unit of Yum, the US company said.

The privatisation of Little Sheep signals Yum has officially taken over the management of Little Sheep in China as it named Xi Ziying, a former regional manager of KFC in China, to be the brand manager, replacing Lu Wenbing, former president of the hotpot chain.