Twinkies may be back on store shelves by July, but it’ll be a whole new set of bakers that are pulling them out of the ovens. Their one uniting characteristic? They won’t be union members.

When Hostess Brands, the former owner of Twinkies, had to shut down because it couldn’t come to an agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union, processed baked-good lovers became fearful that they’d never see their beloved cakes again and immediately went to their local grocery stores to clear out the shelves of any products that remained. 

Since then, of course, Hostess has been sold for $410 million to investment bankers Apollo Global Management and Pabst owner Metropoulos & Co., who plan to put another $60 million in capital investments into fixing up and reopening four of the 11 plants Hostess used, according to the Wall Street Journal. It may open a fifth as well, but the bankers are aiming to make the whole shebang run a lot more efficiently. The reopened plants should run at 90 to 95 percent capacity while some of the ones that will remain closed ran at less than 50 percent capacity, the Journal notes.Continue reading...

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Hipsterrific U.S. beer brand Pabst Blue Ribbon and surfing powerhouse O’Neill could have had a legal battle, but the chill brands instead decided to pound it out and make some money together. 

O’Neill turned out a new surf look recently that caused someone in the Pabst legal department to give them a call to note that O’Neill was getting a little too close for comfort to the logo for Pabst, which is owned by the enterprising bunch at Metropoulos & Co., the company that just linked up with Apollo Global Management to buy the rights to Twinkies for $410 million.

But instead of a brouhaha, the two companies decided (no doubt over a cold one) to chill out and partner on a co-branded line of clothing.Continue reading...

After filing for bankruptcy protection in November and laying off its workers, Hostess has finally found buyers to pony up about $800 million for the majority of its baked goods brands.

According to Associated Press, a bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of Hostess Brands' iconic Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos to two investment firms, Apollo Global Management and Pabst owner Metropoulos & Co., for $410 million. The judge also approved the sale of Hostess-owned Wonder Bread, Nature's Pride, Butternut, Home Pride and Merita bread brands to Tastykakes owner Flowers Foods, for $360M.

Beefsteak, a Hostess-owned regional bread brand, also was approved for a $31.9 million sale to Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, which surfaced early in the Hostess bankruptcy auction as a potential buyer and acquired Sara Lee's North American bakery business in 2010.Continue reading...

The world has been restored to its rightful order, folks. The snack-cake division of Hostess has accepted a buyer bid from Apollo Global Management Group and Metropoulos & Co. for $410 million. 

Hostess was to conduct an auction later this week for snack brands including Twinkies, CupCakes, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs, however no competing bids were received by the deadline. Apollo, in partnership with veteran food executive Dean Metropoulos, has reportedly said that they are aiming to have the snack cakes back on shelves by summer, according to the Chicago Tribune.Continue reading...

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