Nestlé and California Pizza Kitchen are fighting over whether Nestlé can retain the retail rights to the newly bankrupt fast-food chain’s frozen pizzas.
California Pizza Kitchen is trying to get out of a contract that Nestlé inherited in 2010 as part of a $3.7 billion deal with what was then Kraft Foods. Nestlé bought Kraft’s frozen pizza business, which included CPK as well as DiGiorno, Tombstone and other well-known brands.
CPK filed for bankruptcy in July and is trying to recover the retail rights for its product as part of its reorganization plan. It detailed this part of the plan in court papers related to its bankruptcy and Nestlé filed an objection, accusing CPK of trying to “manipulate the bankruptcy process.” The two companies are in ongoing talks to try to resolve the dispute, Nestlé said in its filing.
An online auction for CPK’s assets, held earlier this month, failed to attract any qualified bids.
