the hershey company has a licence to produce kit kat bars in the united states which dates from 1970, when hershey executed a licensing agreement with rowntree which allowed hershey to retain the kit kat licence so long as hershey was not sold. nestlé, which has a substantial presence in the us, had to honour the licensing agreement when it bought rowntree in 1988. as kit kat is one of hershey's top five brands in the us market, the kit kat licence was a key factor in hershey's failed attempt to attract a serious buyer in 2002.