TAGS: Hostess, Flowers Food, Wonder, Hostess leading bread brands, Grupo Bimbo, McKee Foods, Drakes, Twinkies
THOMASVILLE, GA -- Hostess has chosen Flowers Foods as the buyer for Wonder and the majority of its other leading bread brands, which also included 20 bread plants. Flowers Foods' $360 million bid was declared the highest and best offer prior to a court-ordered action that was to be held on Feb. 28 but was canceled because no other bids were received for the bread brands.
If approved by a bankruptcy court on March 19, Flowers, which makes Tastykake and Mrs. Freshley's pastries and the Nature's Own bread brand, will acquire the Wonder, Butternut, Home Pride, Merita and Nature's Pride brands.
An auction will be held for Hostess's Beefsteak brand because Mexico's Grupo Bimbo submitted a higher bid than Flowers' $30 million offer.
Hostess has also picked opening bidders for its snack cakes -- two private equity firms for Twinkies and Little Debbie snack maker McKee Foods for Drakes. Auctions for those sales are scheduled to take place in mid-March.
