Hostess Snack Cake Brands Find New Home

The stalking horse bid submitted by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC and Metropoulos & Co. for most of Hostess Brands Inc.’s snack cake business, including Hostess and Dolly Madison branded products, will be presented for approval to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as no other qualified bids were received for those assets.

Apollo and Metropoulos have agreed to pay $410 million to purchase the brands, five bakeries and certain equipment. Among the products included are Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Donettes snack cakes. The company will ask the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to approve the transaction at a hearing March 19.

"The agreement results in significant value for our stakeholders and we look forward to putting the proposed transaction before the court next week," said Gregory F. Rayburn, Hostess chairman and CEO.

Flowers Foods Inc. has agreed to pay $360 million for the majority of the bread business assets, including Wonder and other brands, and 20 bakeries. Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo was selected as the winning bidder for the company's Beefsteak bread business, for $31.9 million. The court will also consider approval of these brands March 19.

On March 15, Hostess will conduct an auction for its Drake's snack cake business and Sweetheart, Standish Farms, Grandma Emilie's and Eddy's bread businesses. The combined stalking horse bids for those assets total approximately $56.6 million.