Hostess IPO On The Horizon

We’ve all heard the myths and rumors that a Twinkie pretty much has no expiration date and can sit on a store shelf practically forever, but its parent company, Hostess, announced on Tuesday (July 5) plans for its first public offering of shares for a company that dates to 1919.

That’s right, soon you will be able to purchase not just as many boxes of Twinkies as you want but also a piece of the company that owns them — Ho Hos, too, if that’s more your thing.

Hostess’ new ownership group, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Gores Group, which purchased a controlling share in Hostess three years ago for $410 million after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012, revealed its plans to take the company public with an IPO it values at about $2.3 billion, according to CNNMoney.

Under the deal to take the company public, valued at $725 million, Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos, who initially teamed up to buy Hostess out of bankruptcy, will own a 42 percent stake in the company after the public offering.

Gores Group will contribute $375 million toward the public sale, while additional investors will chip in $350 million, CNNMoney reported.

“This new phase in Hostess’ 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,” Metropoulos said in a statement announcing the deal.

Hostess’ 2012 bankruptcy filing was its second since 2004, but the company now says it has an annual operating budget of $220 million.

Hostess was founded in 1919, and the delicious, yet oddly-hued Twinkie came along in 1930.

Hostess appears to be one of the “bigger name” IPOs on the horizon for the year but is not expected until at least the fall.