Gores Holdings Completes Acquisition of Hostess Brands

Gores Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of The Gores Group, LLC completed the acquisition of Hostess Brands, LLC, the maker of Hostess Twinkies, Ding Dongs and CupCakes. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Gores Holdings and the indirect parent of Hostess Brands, and was approved at a special meeting of Gores Holdings’ shareholders on November 3, 2016. In connection with the transaction, Gores Holdings has been renamed Hostess Brands and its common stock and warrants will trade on NASDAQ under the symbols “TWNK” and “TWNKW”, respectively.

As previously announced, along with the $375 million of Gores Holdings’ shareholder equity, additional investors comprising large institutional investors, C. Dean Metropoulos (through $50 million of additional rollover contribution) and Gores affiliates participated in a $350 million private placement, led by Alec Gores, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group. Additionally, funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos and family, the prior majority owners of Hostess, will continue to hold an approximately 42 percent combined stake in the company. Dean Metropoulos and William Toler continue to lead Hostess as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, respectively.

Dean Metropoulos, Executive Chairman of Hostess, says, “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. 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.”

Alec Gores, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group, said, “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.”

Andrew Jhawar, Senior Partner and Head of the Consumer & Retail Group at Apollo, added, “Hostess has many exciting levers for continued growth going forward, and the company is well positioned given its strong leadership, dedicated team members and loyal customer base. Becoming a public company is the next evolution in the revitalization of Hostess. Our team at Apollo looks forward to working with the Gores team, the Company’s new Board members and Dean, Bill and the rest of the management team in assisting to drive profitable growth and future shareholder value at Hostess.”

In 2013, C. Dean Metropoulos and certain funds affiliated with Apollo acquired select Hostess assets out of the liquidation of the old Hostess Brands company. That summer, they returned Hostess products to store shelves after a months-long absence in what became one of the biggest news stories of the year. Since that time, the management team has successfully rebuilt the business and the brand through investments to enhance operations, creative product innovation, expanded distribution through a direct-to-warehouse system, targeted acquisitions and a competitive business model. Hostess had revenues for the twelve months ended June 30, 2016 of approximately $658 million and operates five baking facilities located in Emporia, KS, Indianapolis, IN, Columbus, GA and Southbridge, MA.

Upon completion of the transaction, the Hostess Board of Directors consists of Dean Metropoulos, Mark Stone, Andrew Jhawar, Larry Bodner, Neil Defeo, Jerry Kaminski and Craig Steeneck.