Twinkies have a reputation for being able to survive an apocalypse. At the very least, it appears that the cream-filled confections will survive bankruptcy.
Their maker, Hostess Brands, has named a pair of private equity firms, Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos & Company, as the collective lead bidder for Twinkies and several other snack brands, a person briefed on the matter said on Tuesday.
Apollo and Metropoulos appear to have beaten out a sizable number of competitors for the iconic snack brand, including Grupo Bimbo of Mexico, the maker of Arnolds bread. But as the “stalking horse†bidder, the pair will have largely set a floor for a court-supervised auction that is expected to take place within weeks.
Hostess has named a number of preliminary buyers for its snack and bread brands after deciding to liquiate last year. It has already named lead bidders for its Wonder Bread and Drake’s cake brands.
But Twinkies have long been regarded as the bankrupt baker’s crown jewel, having drawn scores of potential buyers over the last two months. News that Hostess was shutting down its factories prompted a burst of nostalgia for the cakes.
News of the selection of the private equity firms was reported earlier by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal.
