Millionaire to Buy Twinkies Brand

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firms Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co are near a deal to buy snack cake brands including Hostess Twinkies and Donettes, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

A deal for roughly $400 million, part of Hostess Brands Inc's bankruptcy process, could be announced as soon as Tuesday, said one of the sources, who declined to be identified as the discussions are not public.

The so-called stalking horse bid by the private equity firms would serve as the baseline offer for the business, which also includes Dolly Madison bread and Hostess cupcakes. It could still be topped by others at an auction.

Dean Metropoulos, No. 360 on the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest people, is a packaged foods veteran who was once the joint owner of brands such as Duncan Hines baking mixes, Vlasic pickles and Swanson frozen dinners. In 2010, his firm bought Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the no-frills brew popular with young East Coast hipsters.