Snacks & Candy

The Icing on the Snack Cake

Hostess Brands wins court approval to sell Drake's, remaining bread brands

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hostess Brands Inc. has officially announced that it has obtained U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to sell its Drake's snack cake brand as well as four of its northwest regional bread brands in two separate transactions totaling approximately $58.4 million in proceeds.

"The sale of Drake's and the bread brands are the culmination of our efforts to sell the company's major assets," said Gregory F. Rayburn , the company's chairman and CEO. "All of the company's beloved brands can now live on and, importantly, we have maximized value for the company's stakeholders. We now turn our attention to selling remaining miscellaneous assets and completing the liquidation."

Hostess Brands has now obtained court approval of five transactions totaling approximately $860 million in proceeds.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain has approved the following transactions:

*The sale of the company's Drake's snack cake brand and certain related assets to affiliates of McKee Foods Corp. for $27.5 million. Drake's products include Ring Dings, Yodels, Devil Dogs, Yankee Doodles, Sunny Doodles and Drake's Coffee Cake.

*The sale of the company's Sweetheart, Eddy's, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie's bread brands, four bakeries, and certain other related assets to affiliates of United States Bakery for approximately $30.9 million.

Judge Drain previously approved the following transactions:

*The sale of the majority of the company's snack cake business to affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC and Metropoulos & Co. for $410 million. The assets sold include the Hostess and Dolly Madison snack cake brands, five bakeries and certain other related assets. Among the products included are the Company's Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Donettes snack cakes.

The sale of the majority of the ompany's bread business, including its Wonder brand, to affiliates of Flowers Foods Inc. for $360 million. The assets sold include six of the company's largest bread brands, 20 bakeries and certain other related assets.

The sale of the Beefsteak bread brand to affiliates of Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV for $31 million.

The company has retained Hilco Industrial LLC to market and sell its remaining assets, including property and equipment. Jones Day provided legal advice to Hostess Brands on all of the transactions. Perella Weinberg Partners served as the company's financial advisor.

Founded in 1930, Hostess Brands' products include iconic brands such as Hostess, Wonder, Nature's Pride, Dolly Madison, Drake's, Butternut, Home Pride and Merita.

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