Spain: Telepizza franchise holders file a suit to avoid Pizza Hut buy-out

The Telepizza Franchise Association in Spain has announced that it will persist with the lawsuit to prevent next week’s shareholders meeting from submitting a possible strategic agreement for a takeover by world-wide rival Pizza Hut, despite Telepizza’s attempts to resolve the situation.

An official Telepizza spokesperson explained that there would be conversations with franchisees and a letter was sent to all of them, with close to a hundred franchise holders having already expressed their interest in receiving information about opening a Pizza Hut store.

The rebellious association includes more than a hundred of the nearly 500 franchises the chain has in Spain. Juan Ramón Montero, lawyer for the association, has indicated that the operation is legally “complex”, although in his opinion it is clear that Telepizza would be selling part of its structure to a competitor.

The scope of the agreement is limited to Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain, Andorra, Portugal and Switzerland, and implies a gradual end to the use of the Telepizza brand in Latin America, and the conversion of more than 470 stores in the region into Pizza Hut restaurants.

Full Content: El Economista

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