How much dough was needed to make this sweet deal?

Answer: $5.6 billion

Questions:

• The article mentions that Hostess had gone through bankruptcy twice before being acquired by JM Smucker. Why might JM Smucker have wanted to buy Hostess despite its history of problems?
• Review this list of JM Smucker’s other brands. How might this acquisition impact:
  • The competitive landscape of the food industry?
  • Pricing and availability of Hostess products?
  • Quality of Hostess products?
• What are your feelings about Hostess continuing under JM Smucker? Are you a consumer of their products? If not, what alternatives do you buy instead?

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (NPR):

"The total price tag is a whopping $5.6 billion — a huge scoop for Hostess, which has gone through bankruptcy not once but twice in the past two decades. That included a few months when Twinkies disappeared from the shelves.

Smucker had to fight to snag Hostess, prevailing over several big rivals that reportedly included PepsiCo, Oreo maker Mondelez International and Cheerios maker General Mills."

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Get your students in the business mindset with NGPF's Entrepreneurship mini-unit.

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Have students with their own product ideas? Let them test them out with ECON: I've Got An Idea!

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.

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