Hostess goes public, rebrands
The iconic bakery brand is rebuilding—and reestablishing its image. Here’s how the news was communicated and what execs hope to achieve.
It was only four years ago that sweet treat connoisseurs were bemoaning the loss of the Twinkie. Now Twinkie’s maker, Hostess Brands LLC, is going public.
The organization will sell a majority stake to Gores Holdings for $725 million, making its initial stock offering valued at around $2.3 billion.
That’s a stark contrast from 2012 when the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and booted 18,500 of its employees. RELATED: Speak with one consistent voice to your internal audience with this free guide.
In a statement, Hostess executive chairman, C. Dean Metropoulos said:
This new phase in Hostess’s evolution and partnership with the Gores Group and our broader investor partners will continue to propel Hostess into a growing and innovative company with significant reach and potential long into the future.
Investment firms Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management purchased Hostess’s snack brands through liquidation in 2013 for $185 million in cash. They borrowed another $500 million to purchase its assets (factories, recipes and equipment).
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