Goodbye Hostess Twinkies, hello ... Apollo Twinkies? Or maybe PBR Twinkies? The Wall Street Journal reports that two private-equity companies—Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos—are close to a deal worth more than $400 million to buy the brand from bankrupt Hostess. The bid would serve as the one to beat in an upcoming bankruptcy-court auction, and it now seems unlikely any other suitor would do so.
Metropoulos, Time notes, already owns Pabst Blue Ribbon. "Both are iconic legacy brands that were once very much in demand," writes Josh Sanburn. "PBR has been revived. Twinkies ain’t doing so well." Meanwhile, the AP reports that the maker of Little Debbie (McKee Foods) is the lead bidder for the Drake's brand, which includes Devil Dogs and Ring Dings. The offer is $27.5 million. (More Twinkies stories.)