Spurred by the popularity of high-protein diets, the U.S. egg industry has seen
unprecedented growth in recent years. Market leader National Pasteurized
Eggs LLC (NPE) called on Preti Flaherty to help it secure the technology
and distribution rights it needed to seize the moment for growth.
LICENSE TO GROW When Pasteurized Eggs Corporation
(PEC) invented a process to pasteurize eggs in the shell without cooking them,
NPE saw an opportunity. The company obtained a license to use the pasteurization
technology and sell the eggs anywhere in the United States for two years. NPE
quickly became a national leader in the distribution of in-shell pasteurized
eggs.
BANKRUPTCY DISPUTE SCRAMBLES THE PICTURE
But NPE’s market position was jeopardized when multi-district shareholder and
intellectual property litigation drove PEC into bankruptcy. PEC proposed a
reorganization plan that would have given it ownership of the egg pasteurization
IP rights and dismantled NPE’s ownership and contractual rights. NPE asked us to
help it protect its interest in the market-critical technology.
NPE TAKES CONTROL Preti Flaherty’s business
and bankruptcy lawyers developed an aggressive strategy: present an alternative
proposal allowing NPE to buy PEC’s assets and key technology. After months of
acrimonious negotiation and litigation, we won Bankruptcy Court approval for the
sale. NPE now owns and is developing the process, production and distribution of
in-shell pasteurized eggs throughout the world.
