Gores Holdings completes Hostess Brands acquisition

Special purpose acquisition company Gores Holdings has completed the acquisition of Hostess Brands, a US-based company that produces Hostess Twinkies, Ding Dongs and CupCakes.

The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Gores Holdings and the indirect parent of Hostess Brands.

In relation to the transaction, Gores Holdings has been renamed to Hostess Brands, and its common stock and warrants will trade on NASDAQ under the symbols ‘TWNK’ and ‘TWNKW'.

“Hostess and its best-known product are the epitome of American icons."

The Gores Group chairman and CEO Alec Gores said: “Hostess and its best-known product are the epitome of American icons.

"We are thrilled to be part of the next stage in this company’s life and look forward to helping create value for our shareholders.”

As announced earlier, along with the $375m of Gores Holdings’ shareholder equity, additional investors such as Dean Metropoulos and Gores affiliates participated in a $350m private placement, led by Alec Gores.

Additionally, funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and Dean Metropoulos and family, the prior majority owners of Hostess, will continue to hold a combined stake of approximately 42% in the company.

Dean Metropoulos and William Toler will continue to lead Hostess as executive chairman and CEO, respectively.

Metropoulos said: “I believe the company has strong growth potential and can think of no-one better to partner with in this next journey than Alec Gores and the Gores team who have a well-earned reputation for not only identifying, but adding value to the businesses with which they affiliate.”

Upon completion of the transaction, Hostess' board of directors will include Metropoulos, Mark Stone, Andrew Jhawar, Larry Bodner, Neil Defeo, Jerry Kaminski and Craig Steeneck.