Hostess Brands Announces Sale To Gores Group: What It Means For Twinkies, Ho Hos Snacks

Twinkies and Ho Hos are going public. The owners of Hostess Brands are expected to announce Tuesday a plan to sell a majority stake in the snack company to a publicly traded affiliate of Gores Holdings, Inc. The combined company will assume the Hostess Brands name.

“Hostess presents a unique opportunity to invest in an iconic brand with strong fundamentals that is poised for continued growth,” Alec Gores, chairman and chief executive of the Gores Group, said in a statement.

The $725 million deal would give Hostess an initial enterprise value of about $2.3 billion, Reuters reported Tuesday. It marks the second sale since the company exited bankruptcy three years ago. Investment firm Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Company purchased Hostess' cake business in 2013 for about $410 million.

The deal is expected to be finalized later this year. A listing on the Nasdaq stock market, where Gores Holdings trades, could help Hostess raise additional capital to pay down some of its debt. C. Dean Metropoulos, the bakery’s executive chairman, and William Toler, its chief executive, will remain in their roles under Gores’ lead ownership, the New York Times reported.

"I have enjoyed working together with Apollo to build a vibrant and exciting company, and we are pleased to partner with the Gores Holdings team as we move to the next stage of Hostess' growth and expansion," Dean Metropoulos said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing both our strong organic growth through unique innovations and niche, strategic acquisitions, such as our recent acquisition of Superior Baking, which will extend Hostess' consumer reach in the ‘in-store bakery’ market and expand offerings to customers."

Hostess was founded in 1919 and began making Twinkies in 1930. It also makes Ding Dongs, Donettes and CupCakes. The snack company generated sales of about $650 million during its most recent fiscal year that ended in May.