Remember that rumor about Yum China (YUMC) being interested in buying the franchisee that runs KFC and Pizza Hut in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Vietnam? Well, it might not be happening after all.

According to a report over the weekend from Chinese-language media LatePost, Yum China wasn't included in the second round of bidders for Jardine Restaurant Group, the arm of Hong Kong conglomerate Jardine Matheson that operates those brands in those markets (plus Myanmar). Yum China had no comment on the report, which didn't cite any sources.

This comes about two weeks after foreign media first reported that Yum China was among the entities kicking the tires on Jardine Restaurant Group, which runs about 1,000 stores across those five markets. At the time, it seemed like a natural fit — Yum China already operates KFC and Pizza Hut on the Chinese mainland, so adding neighboring territories would be a logical expansion.

But apparently, the bidding process has moved on without them. The LatePost report didn't say why Yum China was left out, or whether it even participated in the first round. It also didn't mention whether other previously reported interested parties — private equity giant Carlyle and Taiwan's Uni-President — made it to the second round.

For context, both KFC and Pizza Hut are owned by U.S.-based Yum Brands (YUM), which spun off its mainland China operations in 2016 as a separate company: Yum China. That company is now the largest restaurant operator in mainland China, with a history dating back to 1987 when it opened its first KFC in Beijing. As of the end of March, it had 13,454 KFCs and 4,375 Pizza Huts on the mainland.

So while Yum China might not be adding Hong Kong's KFCs to its portfolio anytime soon, it's still got plenty of chicken to fry.