Hostess Brands, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread and other beloved brands from what seems like a bygone era, could see several of its assets sold for $390 million next month to Flowers Foods.
The Thomasville–based company, one of the nation's largest wholesale bakers, was tapped late Friday to serve as stalking horse bidder for select Hostess brands scheduled for auction on Feb. 28.
Todd Meyers, chair of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton's bankruptcy and financial restructuring group, is leading an Atlanta-based team serving as corporate transactional counsel to Flowers Foods. Other lawyers working on the matter include bankruptcy partner Paul Rosenblatt, corporate partners W. Benjamin Barkley and W. Stanley Blackburn, IP partners Miles Alexander, William Brewster and Theodore Davis Jr., senior counsel Virginia Taylor, and counsel Michael Langford.
Crowell & Moring is serving as antitrust and regulatory counsel to Flowers Foods. The lead Crowell lawyers working on the potential deal include antitrust co-chairman W. Randolph Smith, antitrust counsel Olivier Antoine and associates Mika Clark and Timothy "Ty" Carson.
The proposed deal's terms call for Flowers Foods to purchase the Butternut, Home Pride, Nature's Pride, Merita and Wonder Bread brands from Hostess, along with 20 associated bakeries and 38 distribution depots, according to reports. Flowers Foods would pay another $30 million to Hostess as part of its role as stalking horse bidder for the company's Beefsteak bread brand.
Last fall Hostess announced it would be unable to emerge from bankruptcy as a going concern and would instead proceed with the liquidation of its various assets, including such iconic treats as Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Dolly Madison and Drake's cakes.
