Twinkies fans: You can now own a piece of Hostess Brands

Four years after declaring bankruptcy, Kansas City-based Hostess Brands hopes public appetites stay strong for its Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and other snack cakes.

The company, which started trading Monday on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TWNK, is billing itself as “the sweetest comeback ever” to analysts and other investors.

Burdened with debt and labor conflicts, the old Hostess entered a repeat bankruptcy in 2012.

In court-monitored proceedings, the bread line of the company was bought in 2013 for $355 million by publicly traded Flowers Foods, removing 20 bakeries from the Hostess fold.

The snack line, which retained the Hostess Brands name, was acquired in 2013 for $410 million by a team of private investors headed by Dean Metropoulos and Apollo Global Management.

Among the subsequent turnarounds, two affected the Kansas City region positively: Flowers reopened the bread bakery in Lenexa, and the Metropoulos/Apollo group reopened the snack plant in Emporia, Kan.

In July, the Metropoulos/Apollo group said it had entered into an agreement with Gores Holdings Inc., a “special purpose acquisition company” to take Hostess Brands public by a route different from the more common initial public offering.

The Gore entity put $375 million in cash into the deal and raised another $350 million in private placement investments, with Metropoulos and Apollo maintaining a 42 percent minority stake in the company.

Analysts overall were cautious but generally rated the stock a “buy” on the first day of trading, and it closed Monday at $12.12 a share. Shares closed Tuesday at $12.

The public Hostess Brands Inc. retains its headquarters at 1 E. Armour Blvd., and Bill Toler continues as CEO. Dean Metropoulos continues as executive chairman.

Hostess was founded in 1919, and its first product was the Hostess CupCake. Twinkies were introduced in 1930.

Going forward, the company expects to continue introducing new products, most as sugary as its longstanding lineup. Deep-fried Twinkies and peanut butter Ho-Hos were among this year’s introductions.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Twinkies fans: You can now own a piece of Hostess Brands."