Hostess selects lead bidders after $410 mn offer

Twinkie manufacturer Hostess said Wednesday it had chosen a joint offer from investment firms C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management LLC as the lead bid to buy the popular snack maker, AFP reports. The pair are offering $410 million for five bakeries and several of the bankrupt company's snack cake brands, including Twinkies, Mini Muffins, CupCake, Ho Hos, Zingers and Suzy Q's. The bid would be the basis of an auction process that Hostess hopes to hold on March 13, the company said, adding that it had asked for permission from the bankruptcy court. Texas-based Hostess Brands, the maker of iconic super-sweet snacks and Wonder Bread, went under bankruptcy protection a year ago, citing the economic downturn and a shift in public tastes, as well as staff costs. The company announced it was liquidating its assets in November. The Twinkie, a packaged cream-filled cake, has appeared in countless millions of American lunch boxes since it was launched in 1930.