PE OWNED · ON WATCH
California Pizza Kitchen
Includes CPK, Cal Pizza Kitchen
casual dining · Los Angeles, CA
- PE Firm
- Consortium Brand Partners / Eldridge Industries
- Acquirer
- Consortium Brand Partners, Eldridge Industries, Aurify Brands, Convive Brands
- Year Acquired
- 2025
Four investment groups now share a single pizza chain. CPK has been through bankruptcy once already.
Too Soon to Tell
- Sold to a consortium of four groups in December 2025 for a reported price just under $300 million
- Filed for bankruptcy in 2020 under private equity owner Golden Gate Capital, carrying $403 million in debt. The auction drew zero qualified bidders, so its lenders took the keys.
- 120+ restaurants in 10 countries now managed by the operators of Le Pain Quotidien
- Multiple ownership changes in five years. The restaurant equivalent of a foster home.
Early Signs
- Roughly half the chain's locations disappeared in the five years before the current owners bought in, falling from about 240 restaurants at the end of 2020 to around 120 by the December 2025 sale
Sources
- Consortium to Acquire California Pizza Kitchen — Business Wire(2025-12-16)
- California Pizza Kitchen sells itself — Restaurant Dive(2025-12-16)
- No 'qualified' bidders for California Pizza Kitchen in bankruptcy asset sale — Nation's Restaurant News(2020-10-09)
- California Pizza Kitchen to be acquired by investor group — Restaurant Business(2025-12-16)
- California Pizza Kitchen to be acquired by investor group — Nation's Restaurant News(2025-12-16)
- $300 Million CPK Deal Official, New Owners Detail Growth Vision — PMQ Pizza(2025-12-16)