Being Bought: California Pizza Kitchen, Paul Stuart

Two high-profile brands are being acquired. They are:

* California Pizza Kitchen (Costa Mesa, Calif.), which is being bought by a partnership led by Consortium Brand Partners. Terms of the deal, which also involves Eldridge Industries, Aurify Brands and Convive Brands, were not disclosed.

The acquisition calls for Convive Brands, an investment and operations platform of top-tier restaurant concepts, to direct global operations and serve as master franchisor for all CPK restaurants worldwide. The underlying goal, deal participants said in a news release, is to grow CPK’s store network (which currently stands at about 120 locales in the U.S. and nine other countries) and grocery store offering. This is Convive Brands’ fourth acquisition; the others are Jonathan Adler, Draper James and Outdoor Voices.

* Men’s clothier Paul Stuart (New York), which is selling its U.S. operations to a partnership led by Boston-based private equity firm Middle West Partners and suit maker Peerless Collective, reports Women’s Wear Daily. The partners are acquiring that business for an undisclosed price from Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co. Ltd., which was Stuart’s longtime licensee in Japan before it bought the brand in 2012. Buying Stuart’s U.S. operations – which include a New York flagship, stores in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Southampton, N.Y., along with the PS45 Clearance Outlook in New York – will serve as the base for eventually expanding its store base. While CEO Trevor Shimpfky and Creative Director Ralph Auriemma will exit the firm once the deal is done, Middle West Partners cofounder Kevin Kelleher told WWD that his firm’s first priority is “to invest in the existing team” as well as its current stores before looking at potential expansion to such markets as Dallas.