PBR Owner Might Buy Hostess
Don't sound Taps too soon, Twinkie lovers. Those golden pastries are rumored to be nigh invincible, and they may yet prove able to survive even the liquidation Hostess Brands Inc. announced yesterday, with a little help from the owner of PBR.
C. Dean Metropoulos & Co., the Greenwich, Conn.-based private-equity firm that bought Pabst Brewing Co. in 2010, told Bloomberg that it is considering an offer to buy Hostess. The Twinkie maker seems like a natural fit for the firm, which specializes in buying and reviving struggling brands like Chef Boyardee and Bumblebee Tuna, and has had its eye on the 82-year-old vendor of DingDongs, Ho Hos, and Hostess Cupcakes for some time now.
"Our family would love to purchase these iconic brands," said Daren Metropoulos, a principal at the firm. "We have analyzed this opportunity very carefully for a few years now."
The Hostess liquidation was just announced yesterday, and there's no word on other bidders or interested parties. But Metropoulos told Bloomberg that the company was "fully prepared to participate in any process involving selling the brands," so don't be surprised if fried Twinkies start showing up on the menus at your friendly neighborhood hipster bars.