The New Team of Twinkies And Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer

The wait is over. Twinkies will be sold to the owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

There will be no competitive auction process for the Hostess assets as the other potential bidders have decided not to pursue the purchase further. See Winners Emerge in Twinkies Auction.

Forget a Hangover; New Twinkies Owner Is on a Sugar Rush has the story:

"What do actor Zach Galifianakis and the cast of “Duck Dynasty” have in common? They could be the new pitchmen for Twinkies and other beloved Hostess snack brands, according to the brands’ potential buyer.

Evan Metropoulos, part of a team that is offering $410 million to buy the Hostess brands out of bankruptcy, told Bankruptcy Beat Tuesday afternoon that the “Hangover” star—a fellow “Greek guy” and friend—and the reality-television show cast are on the list of famous faces who may be in line to sell Twinkies to a new generation of snackers.

“We have a million A-list celebrities and athletes and so forth that are dying to be associated with the Hostess brands like Twinkies,” said Metropoulos, whose family owns Pabst Brewing Co. “We are going to be pulling out a couple fabulous names.”

He hinted at the possibility of a quirky, viral ad campaign along the lines of what Will Ferrell did for Old Milwaukee beer, which Pabst owns.

But it will take more than buzzworthy ad campaigns to get Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos back on grocery shelves, from which they’ve missing since Hostess announced last fall that it would liquidate. Metropoulos, who was in South Florida working on a real-estate deal, said his family’s history with such well-known brands as Chef Boyardee and Bumble Bee tuna as well as Pabst beer have given it the financial bonafides to rescue the Hostess brands from their recent turmoil.

“With some TLC and some good management fundamentals, [I believe] that these brands will flourish with a new audience and an audience that grew up with them,” he said.

Metropoulos, whose favorite Hostess snack is the raspberry Zinger cake, knows how important the nostalgia factor is. . . .

“We don’t want to ruin a wonderfully historically significant brand,” he said. “As the years go by, we may evaluate opportunities to come out with some different versions of these products and baked goods that are more health-conscious.”

That means you could—we repeat, could—one day see low-fat Twinkies. Or whole-wheat Twinkies. Or low-carb Twinkies. Or organic Twinkies.

The proposed sale, in which Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management would team up for the cake brands as well as several bakeries and equipment, is subject to a bankruptcy judge’s approval at a March 19 hearing. If the court gives its blessing, Evan Metropoulos said the new owners would move fast to restart production.

“Time is of the essence,” he said. “Many people are excited that Twinkies are going to be saved, and these snacks are going to be back on the shelves by this summer.”"

See also Hostess Picks Apollo-Led Group as New Owner of Twinkies for the details behind the pending sale. 

Summing Up

Looks like a done deal.

The Twinkies brand will live on under new ownership.

As for employment opportunities for the thousands of former Hostess employees whose union leadership preferred asset liquidation in lieu of reaching an agreement with the prior Hostess owner, we'll just have to wait and see what happens to them.

Probably nothing good, but time will tell.

Thanks. Bob.