The private equity owners of Hostess Brands LLC are planning to put the maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs up for sale in early 2015, potentially valuing it at more than $1.7 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos, which bought Hostess Brands out of bankruptcy for $410 million in 2013, have received inquiries from some possible buyers about selling the cake business, the people said.Hostess Brands is also having conversations with investment banks Rothschild, Credit Suisse Group AG and Perella Weinberg Partners about advisory roles they are likely to have in a potential sale, the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Apollo, Credit Suisse and Rothschild declined to comment, while Metropoulos, Hostess Brands and Perella Weinberg did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Deliberations over a potential sale, first reported by the New York Post on Tuesday, follow a remarkable turnaround in the past year and a half spearheaded by Apollo and Metropoulos, a consumer industry veteran.
Credit Suisse Group AG is a Switzerland-based holding company engaged in private banking, investment banking and asset management areas. Shares of CS traded higher by 1.71% or $0.44/share to $26.20. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $24.82 and as high as $33.25. On average, 1200090 shares of CS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 760290.
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