In Brief : Pizza Hut Sued by Franchiser

National Pizza Co. has filed suit in Sedgwick County District Court against Pizza Hut, which is trying to block National Pizza’s attempt to acquire a chain of fast-seafood restaurants.

National Pizza, based in Pittsburg, Kan., is the largest U.S. franchiser of Pepsico Inc.’s Pizza Hut restaurants. Its sole business has been operating Pizza Hut franchises.

The company last month made an unsolicited offer to buy Skipper’s Inc. for $9.25 a share, or approximately $27 million. Skipper’s, which operates 213 restaurants in the western United States and British Columbia, has rejected the offer.

On Monday, Pizza Hut officials advised National Pizza in a letter that the acquisition of Skipper’s would violate its franchise agreement with Pizza Hut, said J. J. Fitzsimmons, chief financial officer for National Pizza, which operates more than 225 restaurants.

“We responded asking for specifics on how it would violate the agreement, and they declined to provide details,” Fitzsimmons said. Rather than wait for Pizza Hut to respond, National Pizza went to court on Tuesday in an effort to resolve the matter, Fitzsimmons said.