Many bidders for Hostess; exec bonuses approved

• Top 19 company officers, execs eligible for up to $1.8 million in bonuses
• Hostess says it has 110 bidders for its iconic brands
• Company fired 15,000 union workers, can't pay retiree benefits

NEW YORK (AP) — The future of Twinkies is virtually assured, but not the 18,000 jobs of bankrupt Hostess Brands.

A federal bankruptcy judge approved wind-down plans late Thursday for the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos. That included approving bonuses worth up $1.8 million if top executives meet certain liquidation goals.

And it sets the stage for the company to find a second life with new owners. Hostess said in court that it's in talks with 110 potential buyers for its brands.

The suitors include at least five national retailers, such as supermarkets, a financial adviser for the company said. The process has been "so fast and furious" Hostess wasn't able to make its planned calls to potential buyers, said Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners.

"Not only are these buyers serious, but they are expecting to spend substantial sums," he said.

In a hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York in White Plains, N.Y., company lawyers said the bonuses are needed to retain the 19 corporate officers and "high-level managers" during the wind down process, which could take about a year.

Two of those executives would be eligible for additional rewards depending on how efficiently they carry out the liquidation. The compensation is in addition to regular pay.

The bonuses do not include pay for CEO Gregory Rayburn, who was brought on as a restructuring expert earlier this year. Rayburn is being paid $125,000 a month.

In court Thursday, an attorney for Hostess noted that the company is no longer able to pay retiree benefits, which come to about $1.1 million a month. Hostess stopped contributing to its union pension plans more than a year ago.

Hostess was given approval on an interim basis for its wind-down last week, which gave the company legal protection to fire 15,000 union workers. The company said the immediate terminations were necessary to free up workers to apply for unemployment. Hostess is retaining about 3,200 employees to help in winding down operations, including 237 employees at the corporate level.

The bakers union, Hostess' second-largest union, has asked the judge to appoint an independent trustee to oversee the liquidation, saying that the current management "has been woefully unsuccessful in its reorganization attempts."

Hostess had already said last week that it was getting a flood of interest from potential buyers for its brands, which also include Devil Dogs and Wonder bread. The company has stressed that moving quickly is necessary to capitalize on the outpouring of nostalgia sparked by its liquidation.

"The longer these brands are off the shelves, the less they're going to be valued," Scherer said in a court Thursday. Last week, he had noted that it was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for buyers to snap up iconic brands without the burden of debt and labor contracts that would come with the purchase of Hostess as a company.

Although Hostess sales have been declining over the years, they still come in at between $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion a year.

The company's demise came after years of management turmoil, with workers saying the company failed to invest in updating its products. In January, Hostess filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in less than a decade, citing steep costs associated with its unionized workforce.

Although Hostess was able to reach a new contract agreement with its largest union, the Teamsters, the bakers union rejected the terms and went on strike Nov. 9. A week later, Hostess announced its plans to liquidate, saying the strike crippled its ability to maintain normal production.

Toward the end of the hearing Thursday, a man who said he'd worked at Hostess for 34 years stood to give his objections to the wind-down plan, saying creditors shouldn't be given money from brand sales when the company hasn't been paying into workers' pension funds.

"I have traveled pretty far to get here," he said, noting that many of his co-workers weren't aware of the hearing or didn't know how to get there. "I just wanted to be heard."