KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Twinkies maker Hostess Brands LLC is in talks to acquire Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp, a Canadian maker of thaw-and-serve sweet baked goods such as Two-Bite Brownies, people familiar with the matter said, according to a Reuters report.
The Toronto based-company's owner, OMERS Private Equity, the buyout arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, has been exploring a sale or initial public offering (IPO) of Give & Go, the news agency reported in September.
Hostess faces competition for Give & Go, and there is no certainty that its offer will prevail, the people told Reuters.
OMERS hopes a deal could value Give & Go at as much as $800 million, one of the people added.
The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Give & Go and OMERS did not respond to the news agency's requests for comment.
Hostess, owned by Apollo Global Management LLC and consumer industry investor C. Dean Metropoulos, explored its own sale earlier this year but decided an IPO would be more lucrative, Reuters reported last summer. The company has not yet gone ahead with its IPO plans.
Give & Go's brands include Two-Bite Brownies, Kimberly's Bakeshoppe cupcakes, The Worthy Crumb, Madison St. Bakehouse and Prime Pastries. It also provides private-label products to retailers in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe, Australia and Japan.
Kansas City, Mo.-based Hostess owns the Twinkies, CupCakes, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Zingers, Suzy Q's, Sno Balls, Donettes, Fruit Pie and other snack-cake brands.
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