LOS ANGELES — Gores Holdings, Inc., a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, L.L.C., has completed the acquisition of Kansas City-based Hostess Brands, L.L.C. In a Nov. 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gores Holdings said the transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Gores Holdings and Hostess Brands and was approved at a special meeting of Gores Holdings’ shareholders on Nov. 3.
In connection with the transaction, Gores Holdings has been renamed Hostess Brands, Inc., and its common stock will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “TWNK.”
The transaction was first announced in early July, when the owners of Hostess, funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, L.L.C. and C. Dean Metropoulos and family, including sons Daren Metropoulos and Evan Metropoulos, said they would receive approximately $522 million in cash for a majority stake in the company. As noted in the July 5 conference call, the payment will come from $375 million in cash from Gores Holdings Inc., a publicly traded affiliate of Gores Group, and another $350 million that was raised in a private placement led by Alec Gores, chairman and chief executive officer of the Gores Group. Others participating in the private placement included institutional investors and affiliates of Gores, a Los Angeles-based private equity group. The Metropoulos and Apollo groups will retain a 42% stake in Hostess, and Dean Metropoulos and William Toler will continue to lead Hostess as executive chairman and c.e.o., respectively.
The Hostess board of directors includes Mr. Metropoulos, Mark Stone, Andrew Jhawar, Larry Bodner, Neil Defeo, Jerry Kaminski and Craig Steeneck.
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| C. Dean Metropoulos |
“We are excited to introduce Hostess as a public company, and I am extremely proud of the job our team has done in repositioning and growing Hostess during the past four years,” Mr. 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.”
Mr. Gores added, “Hostess and its best-known product are the epitome of American icons. Dean, Bill and their team have done an outstanding job of positioning the company for future, profitable growth. 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.”
Mr. Jhawar, senior partner and head of the consumer and retail group at Apollo, said Hostess has many “exciting levers” for continued growth, and the transaction positions the company well for the future.
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| Andrew Jhawar |
