Twinkies could be making a comeback this summer
A $410-million deal to save the snack cake
FILE – This Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, file photo, shows, Hostess Twinkies in a studio in New York. Twinkie lovers, relax. The tasty cream-filled golden spongecakes are likely to survive, even though their maker will be sold in bankruptcy court. Hostess Brands Inc., baker of Wonder Bread as well as Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Ho’s, will be in a New York bankruptcy courtroom Monday, Nov. 19, 2012 to start the process of selling itself. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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The Twinkie, everyone’s favourite nostalgic hyper-processed snack cake, looks like it will be making a comeback this summer after Hostess filed for bankruptcy and stopped producing the cake in November 2012.
The Twinkie saviours are private firms Apollo Global Management (APO) and Metropoulos & Co., which won a joint bid for the brand for $410 million. It was the only bid for the Twinkie, in a deal that also includes rights to other Hostess products that were sold under the Dolly Madison snack cakes brand, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Hostess filed for bankruptcy in November during a declining public appetite for super-processed food and a bakers strike at some of its industrial bakeries. The bankruptcy filing left 18,500 employees out of work. Those workers are not expected to get their jobs back as part of this new deal.
Other iconic Hostess products, including Wonder Bread, are set to go up for Auction on March 15.
Metropoulos is no newcommer to the food industry. It has experience turning around troubled food brands. It bought hipster-favourite beer Pabst Blue Ribbon and has invested in Chef Boyardee, Bumble Bee seafood and Aunt Jemima in the past.
Apollo Global Management, owned by billionaire Leon Black, is likely providing the financial backing for the purchase. While Apollo isn’t know in the food industry, it is “known for making money off distressed assets,” reports The New York Post.
The partner companies may have some help as they attempt to bring the troubled brands back from the brink. Reports say that comedian Zach Galifianakis and the hillbilly cast of reality television program Duck Dynasty could appear in forthcoming Twinkie ads.