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VendingMarketWatch Top News Stories Hostess selects winning brand bidders H ostess Brands Inc. has obtained U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to sell the majority of its snack cake business and the majority of its bread business in separate transactions Some Hostess products will be back on shelves this summer. totaling approximately $800 million in proceeds. Apollo Global Management, LLC and Metropoulos & Co. will pay $410 million to purchase several brands, including Twinkies®, Ho Hos®, Ding Dongs® and Donettes® snack cakes as well as fve bakeries and certain equipment. Flowers Foods, Inc.'s $360 million bid for the Hostess Wonder, Nature's Pride, Merita, Home Pride, and Butternut bread brands; 20 bakeries; and approximately 38 depots has also been accepted. Additionally, the court approved the sale of the Beefsteak® bread brand to affliates of Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. for $31.9 million. Hostess Brands will seek court approval April 9 for the McKee Foods Corp. agreement to pay $27.5 million for the Drake's® snack cake brand and certain equipment as well as the sale of Hostess' Sweetheart®, Eddy's®, Standish Farms® and Grandma Emilie's® bread brands, four bakeries and 14 depots, plus certain equipment to affliates of United States Bakery for approximately $30.9 million. Police have disabled the machine, which was outside an apartment complex. Vending camera nabs Tennessee burglars ▶ A small camera placed inside a vending machine by the owner, JBA Vending in Sevierville, Tenn., caught two people stealing cash and vandalizing a vending machine in Newport, Tenn., according to 10 News. Police said more and more vending companies are protecting their assets with these internal cameras, which could stop vending theft completely. GMCR To Cut Jobs In California, Canada ▶ Green Mountain Coffee Michigan college adds food venders People in the News ▶ Schoolcraft College in NAMA Promotes LyNae Schleyer NAMA, the national association dedicated to vending and refreshment services, announced the promotion of LyNae Schleyer to vice president of meetings and events. Schleyer Former AMS President Dies At 93 Former president and chairman of the board of Automatic Merchandising Systems Inc. (AMS), Roy Steeley died March 16 of natural causes. He was 93 years old. Bertsch Vending Founder Passes Away Charles Edward Bertsch, who founded Bertsch Vending Co. in Warsaw, Ind., recently passed away at age 89. John Scallion Passes Away At 83 Bertsch John M. Scallion a sales representative with Canteen recently passed away at age 83. 10 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com April 2013 Livonia, Mich. has added gourmet, glassfront food vending machines that dispense meals made by chefs from the Schoolcraft Culinary Arts Department, according to Hometownlife News. The food items include pasta, fsh and meat meals vacuum sealed and replenished daily. Malt beverage machine found in D.C. ▶ In the Trinidad neigh- borhood of Washington, D.C., a Pepsi-branded vending machine was caught dispensing malt liquor for $3 a container, according to DCIST.com. Roasters (GMCR) recently announced a workforce reduction affecting a total of 74 full-time production and production support employees in its Castroville, Calif. and Toronto, Ontario, Canada facilities. In addition, seasonal layoffs impact a total of 36 positions in its Toronto and Montreal, Quebec facilities. Site calls for credit surcharge reports ▶ The Consumerist, a not-for-proft subsidiary of Consumer Reports, recently published an editorial asking readers to take pictures of notes on vending machines across the nation that have a cash discount or credit surcharge. CONTINUED ▶