(Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA is fighting to hold onto its right to sell frozen California Pizza Kitchen Inc. pies as the chain reorganizes in bankruptcy court.
California Pizza Kitchen, best known for exotic pizzas like its Original BBQ Chicken and Jamaican Jerk Chicken pies, filed for bankruptcy in July and recently said in court papers that it wants to reject its trademark contract with Nestle as part of its reorganization plan.
“CPK must not be allowed to manipulate the bankruptcy process to unwind a decades-old licensing transaction which operated as an effective sale of its frozen pizza business to Nestle,” the American unit of the Swiss packaged food giant said Thursday in its objection to the pizza chain's plan.
California Pizza Kitchen sold the rights to sell frozen pizzas in the U.S. and Canada to Kraft in 1997. Nestle acquired the agreement when it bought Kraft's frozen pizza business for $3.7 billion in a 2010 deal that also included DiGiorno and Tombstone.
Canceled Auction
The two companies are in ongoing talks to resolve the dispute, according to Nestle's court filing. The document is heavily redacted and the company successfully moved for related papers to be sealed.
Nestle asked that the pizza chain's reorganization plan include language that confirms its rights to sell the frozen pizzas.
Earlier this month CPK canceled the auction where it planned to sell some or all of its assets after it received no qualified bids by the deadline. That leaves its lenders as the likeliest new owners of the company.
The case is California Pizza Kitchen Inc. and CPK Texas LLC, 20-33752, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston). To view the docket on Bloomberg Law, click here.
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