Judge OKs Hostess Liquidation Plan

A bankruptcy court judge today approved a request by Hostess Brands to begin winding down its operations. The ruling came after the maker of Twinkies and other snack cakes failed in last-ditch negotiations to end a strike by its second-largest union. Hostess now has the green light to terminate the jobs of its 18,000 workers without risking legal action, and to sell off its brands. In court, Hostess said it needed to begin the liquidation process quickly to take advantage of outside interest in its brands, which a banker said could fetch up to $2.4 billion.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get iconic brands separate from their legacy operators," said a banker during the bankruptcy-court hearing in White Plains, New York. Click to read how one columnist thinks the villain in all this is the Teamsters union. (More Hostess stories.)