Grupo Bimbo SAB, Mexico City, and Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga., are emerging as the two of the bidders for Wonder Bread and other Hostess bread brands as Irving, Texas-based Hostess Brands Inc. tries to sell off its assets under bankruptcy-court oversight.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Hostess Brands could reveal as early as this week that Flowers Foods and Grupo Bimbo are in discussions to acquire the bread brands, which also include Nature's Pride. The report said the brands could command $350 million.
Grupo Bimbo's brands include Arnold breads, Thomas' English muffins and Entenmann's cakes. Flowers Foods’ brands include Nature's Own breads and Tastykake snacks. Hostess sells Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, along with Dolly Madison cakes, which includes coffee cakes and Zingers. Hostess also sells Devil Dogs, Funny Bones, and Yodels under the Drake's brand.
Hostess said in December that it expects to file binding bids for many of its brands this month, followed by a four-week auction process to allow competing bids. Closings for many brands could come as soon as mid-March, according to Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners, which is advising Hostess.
Sources: The Huffington Post