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Hostess Nearing Sale Of Wonder Bread

(via Flickr/Government & Heritage Library, State Library of NC)
A 1956 ad for Wonder Bread from a North Carolina State Fair premium list. Hostess is near a sale of the Wonder Bread brand following the company's shutdown.

Wonder Bread is one step closer to getting a new owner.

A person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because the auction process is private says there will be no competing offers Thursday to a bid by Flowers Foods to buy several bread brands from Hostess.

The $360 million bid by Flowers also includes Nature's Pride, Butternut, Home Pride and Merita breads. An auction will still be held for a separate $30 million bid by Flowers for Beefsteak. Any sales require approval by a bankruptcy court.

Flowers Foods, based in Thomasville, Ga., makes Tastykakes and bread brands including Nature's Own and Cobblestone Mill. As we reported earlier, Hostess is also holding separate auctions for its snack cakes, which include Twinkies. The lead players in that process also own beer brand Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Hostess said late last year it would go out of business. Before that, facilities in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati were shut down following a strike.

A visit to the St. Louis Hostess facility was a notable school field trip for some - but for those who never got the chance, here's another vintage Wonder Bread moment you can experience wherever you are:

Follow Kelsey Proud on Twitter: @KelseyProud

 

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.

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