Hostess Close to Deal for Twinkies

A deal worth more than $400 million may be on the table as soon as tomorrow for Hostess Twinkies and other of the bankrupt Hostess Brands Inc.'s popular snack food brands. A report in The Wall Street Journal cited "people familiar with the discussions" who say that Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO) and investment firm C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. are preparing a stalking-horse bid for the brands and several Hostess factories.

If the deal materializes it will be the fourth offer for a piece of the Hostess pie. Flowers Foods Inc. (NYSE: FLO) has offered up to $360 million for five major Hostess brands, including Wonder Bread and Nature's Pride. United States Bakery Inc., makers of Franz bread, has offered $28.85 million for the Hostess bread brands including Sweetheart, and McKee Food Corp., maker of the Little Debbie snack foods, has bid $27.5 million for Hostess' Drake brands, which include Devil Dogs and Ring Dings.

At the time the bankruptcy was filed, Hostess claimed assets of between $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities of more than $1 billion. Two pension funds are owed about $950 million.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Bankruptcy, Food Tagged: APO, FLO