Sun Capital Partners Inc., the Florida firm co-headed by Philadelphia 76ers
co-owner Marc J. Leder, is among the buyers interested in Hostess Brands if a
bankruptcy judge approves the Twinkie and Wonder Bread owner's liquidation,
Leder told Dan Primack, a writer for Fortune, on Monday.
"I think that we could offer a slightly better, more labor-friendly deal
than what was on the table last week," Leder told Primack. Leder is also the
backer of Mitt Romney who hosted the GOP presidential candidate's infamous "47
percent" fund-raising pitch.
He said Hostess' workers are right to criticize the company's lack of
investment in its aging network of U.S. factories, which include a Northeast
Philadelphia plant that employed more than 300, plus distribution centers in
King of Prussia, Wilmington, and other towns. Leder said he'd like to "invest
in newer, more modern, manufacturing assets that would enable the company to
become more productive and to innovate."
Sun already owns Manayunk-based PaperWorks and previously bought and cut
jobs at South Jersey's Aluminum Shapes and Jevic Transportation, among other
firms.
Separately, C. Dean Metropoulos & Co., owner of Pabst Brewing Co., has
expressed interest in Hostess brands, Bloomberg reported. Flowers Foods, owner
of Philadelphia-based Tastykake, is also considered a likely bidder. Hurst
Capital L.L.P., a small Florida buyout firm, said in an e-mail that it is
offering to buy Hostess.
"I can confirm that we have had interest from buyers for specific
assets," Hostess spokesman Erik Halvorson said. He would not say who, or how
much.
