Hostess May Be Bought By Mexico-Based Baking Company

The huge Mexican conglomerate that bought Sara Lee and Entemann’s may also be interested in acquiring financially challenged Hostess Brands and therefore keep the “golden sponge cake with creamy filling” and other products on the grocery store shelves in the future

Grupo Bimbo is said to be the world’s largest bread maker. It is owned by the Servitje family who are reportedly worth about $4 billion. The firm tried to buy Hostess in 2007 but the deal fell through. Grupo Bimbo apparently is seeking to further expand its business operations into North America, however.

According to Forbes, the conglomerate has the resources to keep making the Hostess product line available to the consumer.

“Today, Bimbo is a $10 billion sales business with $200 million in cash on its balance sheet… Supermarkets stock Bimbo staples like Entenmann’s and Thomas’ English muffins. And, significantly, the Sara Lee acquisition suggests that Bimbo’s appetite for U.S. bakeries is hardly satiated.”

The bankrupt Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Wonder Bread, announced on Friday that it is going out of business amidst a labor strike and ongoing financial distress, leaving fans of Twinkies and other treats in the lurch.

FNC reports that “Bimbo has already been present around the bankruptcy proceedings that have haunted Hostess for a decade, in a bid to further expand its North American portfolio and pad its $4 billion net worth.”

Hostess Brands CEO Gregory Rayburn expressed confidence that an entity will purchase the brands shortly after the company begins the liquidation process.

AP reports that there should be a lot of interest in Twinkies in particular from other companies:

“But with high brand recognition and $2.5 billion in revenue per year, other companies are interested in bidding for at least pieces of Hostess. Twinkies alone have brought in $68 million in revenue so far this year, which would look good to another snack-maker.”

Does it matter to you which company, if any, takes over the Hostess baked goods product line?