Thread: Goodbye Twinkies .... No More Wonder Bread

Missing that Twinkie fix?
Good news, they might be back as soon as this summer!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Twinkies and other Hostess snacks could be back on shelves by this summer after a successful $410 million bid for the business.

The winning bid is a joint venture by private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co. A statement from Dean Metropoulos, founder of one of the firms, confirmed they are the winning bidder.

"Our family is thrilled to have the opportunity to reestablish these iconic brands with new creative marketing ideas and renewed sales efforts and investment," said Metropoulos. "We look forward to having America's favorite snacks back on the shelf by this summer. We are also ecstatic to bring jobs back to many cities across the country."

The bankruptcy court had been set to have an auction among qualified bidders on Thursday, but Hostess notified the court late Monday that no other qualified bids had been submitted. That means the $410 million bid wins by default with no further approval of the court being required.

Hostess had no comment on the deal beyond the filing.

Wonder Bread, Twinkies and other Hostess products have not been produced since November, when the company filed with the bankruptcy court to liquidate its business following a crippling strike by the Bakery Workers union.

But while Hostess is out of business, and most of its 18,500 employees have lost their jobs, the company has been auctioning off its various brands as part of the liquidation process.

Metropoulos has experience turning around financially troubled food brands. The firm's food holdings include Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and in the past have included Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Bumble Bee seafood, PAM cooking spray and Gulden's Mustard, all of which it eventually sold to ConAgra Foods In.

The joint bid by Apollo and Metropoulos had been tapped in January as the lead bidder for most of Hostess' snack cake business, which includes both Hostess and Dolly Madison products, led by its iconic Twinkies brand. The bidders also bought five of the closed bakeries as part of their bid.

Flowers Foods won most of Hostess' bread business on Feb. 28 with a $360 million bid that included the Wonder, Nature's Pride, Merita, Home Pride and Butternut bread brands, as well as 20 bakeries.

Privately held McKee Foods Corp. was tapped as the leading bidder with its $27.5 million offer for Hostess' Drake's brand and some of its equipment. Drake's products include Ring Dings, Yodels, Devil Dogs and Yankee Doodles, as well as its coffee cake. That bid is still pending.


http://www.fox44.com/news/national-n...illion-bid-okd

What’s your favorite Hostess product?

Twinkies Set to Make 'Sweetest Comeback' in July
By GEETIKA RUDRA | Good Morning America – 5 hours ago



Twinkies will soon be making a triumphant return to store shelves, according to Hostess' website.

The company, which went bankrupt in 2012 and is under new management, is touting the return on July 15 as "the sweetest comeback in the history of ever."

Hostess is now owned by the private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co.

"America wanted Hostess back -- they wanted the original. Very soon consumers will once again be able to enjoy Twinkies, CupCakes and other great Hostess snack cakes. A comeback by any other name could never be as sweet," Daren Metropoulos, principal of Metropoulos & Co., said in a statement to ABC News.

Fans were devastated when Hostess was forced to close its doors and shut down its Twinkie production last year.

According to The Associated Press, stores sold out of the golden cakes hours after Hostess announced it would no longer be making the creme-filled snacks.

Fans also took to Facebook, creating pages called "R.I.P. Twinkies" and "Save the Twinkies."

A Facebook page announcing the Twinkies' return has almost 300,000 likes.

Hostess is banking on this public support to fuel profits.

Rich Seban, president of Hostess, told the AP that prices for the cakes will remain the same: A box of 10 Twinkies will cost $3.99.

He also said that the new Hostess company will invest in new products, something the old company was criticized for not doing.

He told the AP that the company is looking to expand with gluten-free, added fiber, low sugar and low sodium products.

http://gma.yahoo.com/twinkies-set-sw...opstories.html