Bankrupt baker Hostess Brands announced Wednesday that the two companies chosen to play the roles of "lead bidders" for its snack cakes brands Tuesday have now submitted official "stalking horse" bids.
Metropoulos & Co., and Apollo Global Management (APO +0.00%), bid a collective $410 million to acquire Twinkies, Mini Muffins, Cup Cakes, Ho Hos, Zingers, and Suzy Q's, along with other Hostess brands, in addition to five Hostess Snacks bakeries. If no better bids are received, these two bidders will acquire all of said assets for the named price, free and clear of any debt that might otherwise attach to the properties.
Other interested parties will have a chance to outbid them in an auction to be held perhaps as early as mid-March, under the supervision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Once the auction winner has been determined and approved by the court, a sale is expected to be finalized by April 2013.
Hostess's other brands are similarly up for auction. In recent weeks, Flowers Foods (FLO +0.53%) was chosen as stalking horse bidder for the majority of Hostess's bread brands, bidding $360 million for the bulk of them, and bidding $30 million separately for the Beefsteak bread brand. Additionally, United States Bakery has offered $28.9 million for certain other Hostess bread brands, and McKee Foods, owner of Little Debbie snack cakes, has bid $27.5 million for Drake's.
