Flowers Foods won through in its bid to acquire the majority of Hostess Brands’ bread units, including Wonder, but was outbid for the Beefsteak business by rival baker Grupo Bimbo.
Flowers Foods’ US$360m offer for the Wonder, Nature’s Pride, Merita, Home Pride and Butternut brands – as well as 28 bakeries and around 28 depots – was deemed the “highest and best bid”, eliminating the need for the competitive auction that was scheduled to take place yesterday (28 February).
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However, Flowers’ stalking horse bid of $30m for the Beefsteak brand was topped by a rival bid of $31.9m from Grupo Bimbo, Hostess confirmed.
Flowers “chose not to increase its bid as would have been necessary to win the Beefsteak auction”, Flowers added.
“The proposed sales will result in significant proceeds for the benefit of the company’s stakeholders and ensure the beloved bread brands can continue to be enjoyed for years to come,” Hostess CEO Gregory Rayburn said.
The proposed transactions will now be reviewed by the bankruptcy court overseeing Hostess’ bankruptcy case. A hearing is scheduled for 19 March.
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