Hostess Brands shelving sale in favour of IPO: sources

New York

HOSTESS Brands LLC, the US bakery company whose snack cake brands include Twinkies and Ding Dongs, has pulled itself from the auction block because it believes it can command a higher valuation in an initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the matter.

The move underscores the growth prospects of Hostess as well as its quick turnaround. In 2013, the Kansas City, Missouri-based company was picked up from bankruptcy by private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC and consumer industry investor C Dean Metropoulos for US$410 million.