http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Twinkies-may-be-back-on-shelves-by-summer-4348806.php
Associated Press
A Greenwich billionaire has said he and a partnering private equity fund have emerged as the buyer of Hostess Brands' popular Twinkie brand.
Dean Metropoulos, who teamed with Apollo Global Management to submit a $410 million auction bid, said in a statement Tuesday that he expects to have Twinkies, the spongy cream-filled snack, as well as Ding Dongs and Ho Hos on store shelves this summer.
"Our family is thrilled to have the opportunity to re-establish these iconic brands with new, creative marketing ideas and renewed sales efforts and investment," Metropoulos, who Forbes estimates is worth $1.2 billion, said in his statement. "We are also ecstatic to bring jobs back to many cities across the country."
Metropoulos is founder and chief executive officer of Metropoulos & Co., owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Hostess Brands, which is going through bankruptcy proceedings, had earlier picked the $410 million joint offer from Metropoulos and Apollo as the "stalking horse" bid to set the floor for an auction.
In a document filed in U.S. bankruptcy court on Monday, however, Hostess Brands said the auction would not be held because no other qualified bids were submitted for the cakes.
A spokesman for Hostess said the company had no comment on the lack of competing bids for the snack cakes. Previously, Hostess CEO Greg Rayburn had predicted the process would be "wild and wooly." A representative for Apollo, whose investments include the fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, declined to comment.
Hostess had also canceled an auction for its Wonder and other major bread brands after no competing offers were made. Those breads are being sold to Flowers Foods, which is based in Thomasville, Ga., and makes Tastykakes and Nature's Own bread. The final sales of the breads and Hostess snack cakes are set to be approved in bankruptcy court on March 19.
McKee Foods, which makes Little Debbie snack cakes, was picked as the lead bidder for Drake's cakes, which include Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and Yodels. The deadline to submit competing offers for those snack cakes is Tuesday, with an auction set for Friday.
Hostess Brands, based in Irving, Texas, stopped making its cakes and breads in late November after it announced it was going out of business and closing its plants following years of financial struggles.
At the time of its closing, the company employed 18,500 employees, including 200 in Connecticut and more than 7,000 delivery drivers represented by the Teamsters union.
A spokesman for the union declined to comment Tuesday on the possible re-hiring of some of the drivers.
Greenwich-based Silver Point Capital is a creditor in the Hostess bankruptcy.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/...n-shelves-by-summer-4348806.php#ixzz2NRStAkz3
Associated Press
A Greenwich billionaire has said he and a partnering private equity fund have emerged as the buyer of Hostess Brands' popular Twinkie brand.
Dean Metropoulos, who teamed with Apollo Global Management to submit a $410 million auction bid, said in a statement Tuesday that he expects to have Twinkies, the spongy cream-filled snack, as well as Ding Dongs and Ho Hos on store shelves this summer.
"Our family is thrilled to have the opportunity to re-establish these iconic brands with new, creative marketing ideas and renewed sales efforts and investment," Metropoulos, who Forbes estimates is worth $1.2 billion, said in his statement. "We are also ecstatic to bring jobs back to many cities across the country."
Metropoulos is founder and chief executive officer of Metropoulos & Co., owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Hostess Brands, which is going through bankruptcy proceedings, had earlier picked the $410 million joint offer from Metropoulos and Apollo as the "stalking horse" bid to set the floor for an auction.
In a document filed in U.S. bankruptcy court on Monday, however, Hostess Brands said the auction would not be held because no other qualified bids were submitted for the cakes.
A spokesman for Hostess said the company had no comment on the lack of competing bids for the snack cakes. Previously, Hostess CEO Greg Rayburn had predicted the process would be "wild and wooly." A representative for Apollo, whose investments include the fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, declined to comment.
Hostess had also canceled an auction for its Wonder and other major bread brands after no competing offers were made. Those breads are being sold to Flowers Foods, which is based in Thomasville, Ga., and makes Tastykakes and Nature's Own bread. The final sales of the breads and Hostess snack cakes are set to be approved in bankruptcy court on March 19.
McKee Foods, which makes Little Debbie snack cakes, was picked as the lead bidder for Drake's cakes, which include Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and Yodels. The deadline to submit competing offers for those snack cakes is Tuesday, with an auction set for Friday.
Hostess Brands, based in Irving, Texas, stopped making its cakes and breads in late November after it announced it was going out of business and closing its plants following years of financial struggles.
At the time of its closing, the company employed 18,500 employees, including 200 in Connecticut and more than 7,000 delivery drivers represented by the Teamsters union.
A spokesman for the union declined to comment Tuesday on the possible re-hiring of some of the drivers.
Greenwich-based Silver Point Capital is a creditor in the Hostess bankruptcy.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/...n-shelves-by-summer-4348806.php#ixzz2NRStAkz3
