Old HB, Inc.,
known as Hostess Brands from 2009 to 2013 and established in 1930 as Interstate Bakeries Corporation, was a wholesale baker and distributor of bakery products in the United States. Before its 2012 closure and liquidation, it owned the Hostess,
Wonder Bread
Wonder Bread is a brand of sliced bread which originated in the United States in 1921 and was one of the first to be sold pre-sliced nationwide in 1930. The brand is currently owned by Flowers Foods in the United States.
History
The Taggart Bak ...
,
Nature's Pride
Nature's Pride is an all-natural brand of bread produced by Flowers Foods in the United States. It was previously produced by Hostess Brands, which closed its operations in the wake of a BCTGM bakers' union strike and entered liquidation proceed ...
,
Dolly Madison
Dolly Madison is an American bakery brand owned by Hostess Brands, selling packaged baked snack foods. It is best known for its long marketing association with the ''Peanuts'' animated TV specials.
History
In 1937, Ralph Leroy Nafziger started ...
,
Butternut Breads
Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regi ...
, and
Drake's brands.
For many years the company was called Interstate Bakeries and based at 12 East
Armour Boulevard Armour Boulevard, Armour, or 35th Street is a major west-east main street that runs in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, from Broadway Boulevard to The Paseo. It is named in honor of Simeon B. Armour of Armour and Company
Armour & Company was an Ame ...
,
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. In 2009, after it emerged from a 2004 bankruptcy, its name was changed to Hostess Brands and its headquarters moved to
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...
. Hostess Brands sought
bankruptcy protection
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
again in January 2012.
On November 16, 2012, the company filed a motion in
in
White Plains to close its business and sell its assets. On November 21, the motion was accepted
and a judge agreed to sell the Hostess brands. The Hostess and Dolly Madison brands are now produced by
Hostess Brands
Hostess Brands is an American-based bakery company formed in 2013. It owns several bakeries in the United States that produce snack cakes under the Hostess and Dolly Madison brand names and its Canadian subsidiary, Voortman Cookies Limited, pro ...
. The company is headquartered in
Lenexa
Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the ...
within
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county conta ...
.
History
Interstate Bakeries and Interstate Brands
The company has its roots in Nafziger Bakeries, founded by
Ralph Leroy Nafziger Ralph Leroy Nafziger (November 17, 1887 – September 17, 1965) was the founder of the Hostess Brands, Interstate Bakeries Corporation, which eventually became Hostess Brands.
Nafziger was born into a family of bakers on November 17, 1887, in Kan ...
in a church basement at 6th and Prospect Avenue in Kansas City in 1905. Nafziger expanded the bakeries and bought out competitors. In 1925 he sold Nafziger to Purity Bakeries (which became American Bakeries) and acquired a controlling interest in
Schulze Baking Company
Schulze Baking Company Plant is a factory building located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located at 40 East Garfield Boulevard (also described as 55th Street and Wabash Avenue) in the Washington Park community ar ...
and its
Butternut Breads
Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regi ...
brand.
In 1930 Nafziger announced the formation of the Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) with the merger of Schulze Bakery and the seven bakers of Western Bakeries of Los Angeles to become the fifth largest baker in the United States. The company sold Butternut bread, wrapped in
gingham
Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric typically with striped, check or plaid duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarns. It is made of carded, medium or ...
, to grocery stores.
Schulze and Western continued to operate separately under the Interstate
umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...
until 1937, when they merged with Interstate Bakeries.
[ International Directory of Company Histories](_blank)
Vol. 38. St. James Press, 2001 (via fundingverse.com) In 1943 Interstate acquired the Supreme Baking Company of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and in 1950 it bought the O'Rourke Baking Company of
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
.
![Youll like Butter-Nut Enriched Bread](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Youll_like_Butter-Nut_Enriched_Bread.jpg)
Acquisitions during the 1950s and early 1960s included the Ambrosia, Remar, Butter Cream, Campbell-Sell and Schall Tasty baking companies, the Kingston Cake and Cobb's Sunlit bakeries, Sweetheart Bread Company and Hart's Bakeries.
In the late 1960s IBC acquired Millbrook Bread, Shawano Farms and the Baker and Shawano canning companies.
In 1969 IBC changed its name to Interstate Brands, with its signature brands Butternut and Blue Seal breads and Dolly Madison cakes; Butternut Breads had been in business since 1902.
DPF (1975)
In 1975 Interstate was acquired by the Data Processing Financial and General Corporation (DPF), a computer-leasing company that had encountered difficulties during the
IBM antitrust battles which changed the pricing of IBM hardware. To change its
business model
A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, social, ...
, DPF used its cash to buy a low-tech company. The merged company, headquartered in
Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City.
History
Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Green ...
, kept the DPF acronym while continuing to divest its remaining technology assets. Investing heavily in its plants, it acquired the Silver Loaf Baking Company, Eddy Bakeries and
Mrs. Cubbison's Foods
Mrs. Cubbison's Foods is a company that specializes in stuffing products (also known as Stuffing, dressing). Founded in the U.S. in 1948 by Sophie Cubbison, Mrs. Cubbison’s Foods has grown to include other products, such as croutons and meatloa ...
.
Interstate Bakeries and IBC Holdings
In 1981 DPF completed the sale of its remaining computer systems and changed the company name back to the original Interstate Bakeries, moving its headquarters back to Kansas City.
In 1986 Interstate acquired Purity Baking Company and Stewart Sandwiches, followed in 1987 by Landshire Food Products.
The following year Interstate became a
privately held company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
, and its name changed to IBC Holdings. IBC bought the Merita-Cotton's Bakeries division of the American Bakeries Company.
In 1991, IBC again became a
public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
and changed its name back to Interstate Bakeries.
Continental Baking merger (1995)
In January 1995, Interstate acquired the
Continental Baking Company
The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the Twinkie and Wonder Bread. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became part of the former Hostess Brands company.
His ...
from
Ralston Purina
Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's Fri ...
for
$330 million and 16.9 million shares of Interstate stock. Continental had acquired Taggart Bakeries of
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
in 1925, and the deal brought Taggart's creations (including
Wonder Bread
Wonder Bread is a brand of sliced bread which originated in the United States in 1921 and was one of the first to be sold pre-sliced nationwide in 1930. The brand is currently owned by Flowers Foods in the United States.
History
The Taggart Bak ...
and the Hostess brand) to Interstate. Taggart had created Hostess in 1921, and the brand focused on cakes like
Twinkie
A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by private ...
s,
CupCakes
A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Hiberno-English: bun) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as frui ...
,
Ding Dong
A Ding Dong is a chocolate cake produced and distributed in the United States by Hostess Brands and in Canada from Vachon Inc. under the name King Dons; in some U.S. markets, it was previously known as Big Wheels. The Ding Dong has been produce ...
s and
Ho Hos
Ho Hos are small, cylindrical, frosted, cream-filled chocolate snack cakes with a pinwheel design based on the Swiss roll. Made by Hostess Brands, they are similar to Yodels by Drake's and Swiss Cake Rolls by Little Debbie.
Sold two or thre ...
(created during Continental's ownership). At this time, the merged company also bought the San Francisco French Bread Company, John J. Nissen Baking Company,
Drake's and My Bread Company.
With the merger, Interstate held two national bread divisions: Butternut and Wonder Bread. The divisions had different cultures: Butternut was unregimented, with each bakery a self-contained profit center, and Wonder Bread was structured; this caused early problems. In both divisions,
snack cake
Snack cakes are a type of baked dessert confectionery made with cake, sugar, and icing.
Markets Canada
The main manufacturer in Canada is Vachon Inc. which makes and distributes such products as May West, Jos. Louis, Passion Flakie, and Ah Ca ...
s were more profitable due to
economy of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables a ...
and
logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
. When
extended-shelf-life enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...
s were developed for bread, it was hoped to convert small, less-efficient bakeries into a network of large bakeries like their snack-cakes operations. The new enzymes gave the bread a different taste and texture, and market forces reduced prices and sales.
Bankruptcy (2004)
On September 22, 2004, Interstate Bakeries filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
. The company named a new chief executive, Tony Alvarez. Interstate Bakery's stock, which had been $34 per share, fell to $2.05 with the bankruptcy. During the bankruptcy proceedings (at the time, the longest-running in U.S. history), Interstate fought a 2007 bid from Mexican baker
Grupo Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. (also known simply as Bimbo) is a Mexican multinational company with a presence in over 33 countries located in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has an annual sales volume of 15 billion dollars and is currentl ...
and Ron Burkle of the
Yucaipa Companies
The Yucaipa Companies, LLC is an American private equity firm founded in 1986 by Ronald Burkle. It specializes in private equity and venture capital, with a focus on middle-market companies, growth capital, industry consolidation, leveraged buy ...
.
Under Craig Jung, Interstate Bakeries emerged from bankruptcy as a private company on February 3, 2009. The plan included a 50-percent equity stake by
Ripplewood Holdings
Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York City that focuses on leveraged buyouts, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments.
Ripplewood was founded ...
and credit lines from
General Electric Capital
GE Capital is the financial services division of General Electric.
The company currently only runs one division, GE Energy Financial Services. It had provided additional services in the past; however, those units were sold between 2013 and 201 ...
and
GE Capital Markets, Silver Point Finance and Monarch Master Funding. Interstate's unionized workers made contract concessions in exchange for equity in the company.
["Interstate Bakeries' post-bankruptcy funding appears in trouble"](_blank)
''Kansas City Star'' — January 8, 2009
During the 2004–2009 bankruptcy period Interstate closed nine of its 54 bakeries and more than 300 outlet stores, and its workforce declined from 32,000 to 22,000. The company dropped regional brands and operating agreements, such as an agreement to produce
Sunbeam Bread
Sunbeam Bread is a franchised brand of white bread, rolls, and other baked goods owned by the Quality Bakers of America cooperative. The bread products are produced and distributed by regional bakeries.
History
The brand was launched in 1942 and ...
for the northeastern U.S.
Hostess Brands (2009)
On November 2, 2009, IBC became Hostess Brands, named for its Twinkies-and-cupcakes cake division. Hostess Brands continued its bread lines, including Wonder Bread. The company's subsidiaries, such as Interstate Brands Corporation and IBC Sales Corporation, continued displaying their name and logo on Hostess Brands products.
Bankruptcy and liquidation
In December 2011, it was reported that Hostess Brands was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy a second time. The company stopped paying future pension benefits after August, breaking its union contracts.
According to a Hostess employee, "We understand that, should we pursue some form of legal action to require the company to live up to the terms of the contract, they may close, but we have come to believe that they will close anyway. We believe the company is poorly managed and the only hope is a complete change in management".
On January 10, 2012, Hostess Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time. In its filing, the company said it "is not competitive, primarily due to legacy pension and medical benefit obligations and restrictive work rules". According to Hostess, it employed 19,000 people and was more than $860 million in debt. The company said it would continue to operate with $75 million of
debtor-in-possession financing Debtor-in-possession financing or DIP financing is a special form of financing provided for companies in financial distress, typically during restructuring under corporate bankruptcy law (such as Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US or CCAA in Canada). ...
from Monarch Alternative Capital,
Silver Point Capital
Silver Point Capital is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund that focuses on credit and special situations investments.
It was founded in 2002 by former Goldman Sachs partners, Edward A. Mulé and Robert J. O’Shea. Together, they created a ...
and other investors.
In March Brian Driscoll resigned as CEO and was replaced by
Gregory F. Rayburn
Gregory F. Rayburn (born 1958) is an American businessman. He formerly served as Chairman and CEO of Hostess Brands.
Career
After receiving an undergraduate and master of arts degree in Accounting from the University of Alabama in 1982, he became ...
, who had been hired as
chief restructuring officer
A chief restructuring officer (CRO) is a senior officer of a company given broad powers to renegotiate all aspects of a company's finances to deal with an impending bankruptcy or to restructure a company following a bankruptcy filing. The use of CR ...
nine days earlier. ''
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' reported that unions in the company were unhappy with Driscoll's proposed compensation package of $1.5 million, plus cash incentives and $1.95 million in long-term compensation. The court had discovered that Hostess executives received raises of up to 80 percent the previous year. Rayburn cut the salaries of the four top Hostess executives to $1, to be restored by January 1 of the following year or earlier.
In July 2012, the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' reported that negotiations with the
Teamsters Union
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...
, led by Silver Point Capital, were close to an agreement allowing Hostess Brands to cut employee pay and benefits if the company continued funding its pension plans. In May, as required by the
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (the "WARN Act") is a U.S. labor law that protects employees, their families, and communities by requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 calendar-day advance ...
, the company's 19,000 workers were warned of a possible layoff. In an email to the
Marysville, California
Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...
''
Appeal-Democrat
The ''Appeal-Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper printed in Marysville, California, United States. It has an estimated circulation of 13,000 copies a day, primarily in Yuba County, Yuba and Sutter County, Sutter counties. The paper also i ...
'', Hostess spokesman Erik Halvorson wrote that the May notices were to alert employees to a possible sale of the company but "our goal is still to emerge from bankruptcy as a growing company with a strong future". Although the layoff notices listed July 7–21 as dates, on July 5 another company spokesman told the ''
Financial News & Daily Record
The ''Jacksonville Daily Record'', formerly the ''Financial News & Daily Record'', is a weekly newspaper that has been published in Jacksonville, Florida since 1912.
Overview
The ''Daily Record'' primarily publishes urban development, financial, ...
'' that there were no immediate plans to lay off Hostess employees.
In November 2012, Hostess employees nationwide went on strike. The
(BCTGM), representing 6,600 Hostess employees, took action after a contract proposal from Hostess Brands was rejected by 92 percent of its members.
On November 16, Hostess announced that it was ceasing its plant operations and laying off most of its 18,500 employees. The company said that it intended to sell off its assets (including its well-known brand names) and liquidate. According to CEO Gregory Rayburn, "Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders." A BCTGM press release issued that day read in part, "When a highly-respected financial consultant, hired by Hostess, determined earlier this year that the company's business plan to exit bankruptcy was guaranteed to fail because it left the company with unsustainable debt levels, our members knew that the massive wage and benefit concessions the company was demanding would go straight to Wall Street investors and not back into the company."
According to Rayburn, potential buyers expressed interest in acquiring the Hostess brand. On November 21, Judge Robert Drain cleared Hostess to close.
In approving the plan, Drain ruled against
U.S. Trustee for the Southern District Tracy Hope Davis' motion to convert the bankruptcy to a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...
with an appointed
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
to oversee liquidation. Davis criticized the plan's provisions, which would grant bonuses to insiders' and 'cherry-pick' which administrative claims get paid". Drain left Rayburn in charge of the liquidation; Hostess had argued that its assets would devalue if the company had to wait for a trustee to get up to speed on the company. Hostess Brands' liquidation plan was finalized by a federal bankruptcy judge on November 29. In January 2013, the company asked a judge to set a March 21 deadline for workers to file back-pay claims. On February 11, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York approved
stalking horse bidders for Hostess Brands.
The company received bids for assets from
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
,
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
,
Kroger
The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States.
Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...
,
Flowers Foods
Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regi ...
and
Grupo Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. (also known simply as Bimbo) is a Mexican multinational company with a presence in over 33 countries located in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has an annual sales volume of 15 billion dollars and is currentl ...
, and was expected to sell its snack-cake and bread brands during 2013.
On January 8, 2013, Hostess Brands hired Hilco to sell its equipment, machinery and real estate. Three days later the company announced a $390 million stalking-horse bid by Flowers Foods for six of its bread brands (including Wonder Bread),
and court approval was received for a February 28 auction of the brands.
On January 15, 2013, Hostess Brands began searching for a stalking-horse bidder for its snack cakes; four companies (Grupo Bimbo, a partnership of
Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company, Hurst Capital and
McKee Foods
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
) were negotiating.
Two weeks later the company picked Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company as lead bidder for its snack cakes,
with the bid deadlines for all Hostess brands March 11 and 12.
Buyers
It was announced on January 28, 2013 that
United States Bakery
United States Bakery, better known as Franz Family Bakeries, is a bread and pastry manufacturer headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Franz Bakery was founded in 1906. U.S. Bakery also owns the Northwest regional bread brands Williams', Gai's, and S ...
was the leading bidder for Hostess' Sweetheart, Eddy's, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie's brands and
McKee Foods
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
was the leading bidder for its Drake's brand, which included
Ring Dings,
Yodels and
Drake's Devil Dogs
Drake's is a brand of American baked goods. The company was founded by Newman E. Drake in 1896 in Harlem, New York, as The N.E. Drake Baking Company, but it is now owned by McKee Foods. The company makes snack cake products such as Devil Dogs, ...
.
On March 11
Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
made the sole bid ($410 million) for the company's snack business, which included Twinkies.
Hostess Brands
On June 6, 2013, the new Hostess Brands reopened the Emporia, Kansas plant. Hostess announced ten days later that production would resume the following month, and on June 23 said that its brands would be back on store shelves on July 15. although the company would sell fewer products than before, new president Rich Seban said that it might produce innovative pastries and snacks. "We can have some fun with that mixture," Seban said, suggesting that Hostess might experiment with gluten-free, higher-fiber and lower-sugar and -sodium products.
Brands
Sold to Apollo and Metropoulos
In January 2013, a joint venture by
Apollo Global Management
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company became the leading bidder to purchase Dolly Madison and the Hostess brand of snacks.
Silver Point Capital, Grupo Bimbo and Hurst Capital also placed bids for both brands.
On March 12, Apollo and Metropoulos won the bid to buy the brands from Hostess for $410 million. The deal was approved by a bankruptcy court, and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company principal Daren Metropoulos announced that Hostess products would be sold again on July 15.
Sold to Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. () is the American corporate arm of the Mexican multinational bakery product manufacturing company Grupo Bimbo. It is the largest bakery company in the United States. The company, headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvani ...
outbid Flowers Foods for the rights to Beefsteak on February 28, 2013,
and the deal was approved by a bankruptcy court on March 20. In August, the trademarks of J. J. Nissen and the web domain jjnissenbreads.com were transferred to Bimbo Bakeries,
which later purchased other regional Hostess bread brands: Colombo, Cotton's, Emperor Norton, Fisherman's Wharf, Parisian and Toscana.
Sold to Flowers Foods
In January 2013 it was announced that
Flowers Foods
Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packed bakery food. The company operates 47 bakeries producing bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. Flowers Foods' products are sold regi ...
had offered to buy six of Hostess' bread brands, including Wonder Bread. The deal, initially structured at $360 million, involved 20 bakeries and 38
depots
Depot ( or ) may refer to:
Places
* Depot, Poland, a village
* Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island Formation, Greenland
Brands and enterprises
* Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...
. Flowers Foods won the bid to purchase five of the six bread brands (except Beefsteak, purchased by Grupo Bimbo) on February 28.
The deal went through a bankruptcy court in March and was completed on July 22, 2013.
The five brands are Butternut Bread, Home Pride,
Merita Breads
Merita is a brand of breads that was produced by Hostess Brands and now produced by Flowers Foods, available throughout the Southeastern United States until November 16, 2012, when Hostess's management decided to liquidate Hostess. The company ga ...
,
Nature's Pride
Nature's Pride is an all-natural brand of bread produced by Flowers Foods in the United States. It was previously produced by Hostess Brands, which closed its operations in the wake of a BCTGM bakers' union strike and entered liquidation proceed ...
and Wonder Bread.
Sold to Lewis Brothers Bakeries
The rights to the following Hostess brands were sold to Lewis Brothers Bakeries in December 2013:
* Blue Ribbon
* Braun's
* Bread du Jour
* Continental
* Countess
* County Fair
* D'Agostino's
* Daffodil Farm
* Di Carlo
* Millbrook
* Nancy Martin
* Old World
* Ozark Mill
* Pantry Pride
* Sap's
* Weber's
Sold to McKee Foods
McKee Foods
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
, owner of Hostess competitor
Little Debbie
McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...
, purchased the Drake's snack cakes on March 14, 2013 for $27.5 million.
After the deal passed a bankruptcy court, McKee began selling the snacks on September 23.
Sold to United States Bakery
United States Bakery
United States Bakery, better known as Franz Family Bakeries, is a bread and pastry manufacturer headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Franz Bakery was founded in 1906. U.S. Bakery also owns the Northwest regional bread brands Williams', Gai's, and S ...
won the auction for four
northwestern Hostess bakeries on March 15, 2013 for a reported $30.85 million,
and the deal was approved by a bankruptcy court that month. The brands were Eddy's, Grandma Emile's, Standish Farms and Sweetheart Bakery.
, the rights to the Baker's Inn and Dutch Hearth brands remain unsold.
See also
*
Vachon Inc. and
George Weston Limited
George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of Weston Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary, and Loblaw Companie ...
, holders of rights to select Hostess brand items in Canada.
References
External links
* —''re-established + current Hostess Brands entity''.
* — ''letters and short FAQs on original Hostess Brands entity''.
{{Use mdy dates, date=November 2012
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HB, Old
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Defunct companies based in Texas
Manufacturing companies based in Kansas City, Missouri
Manufacturing companies based in Irving, Texas
American companies established in 1930
Food and drink companies established in 1930
Food and drink companies disestablished in 2012
HB, Old
2012 disestablishments in Texas
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012
Re-established companies