Hostess Union Hires Investment Bank To Represent Workers As Company Sells Off Iconic Brands

NEW YORK -- The pension fund for one of Hostess Brands' unions has hired an investment bank to represent workers and pensioners as the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread sells off its brands.

In a statement posted Sunday on its website, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which represents around 6,000 Hostess bakers, said Gordian Group LLC will represent the fund.

Gordian, a New York investment banking firm that specializes in distressed cases, has represented unionized workers at American Airlines, which is undergoing restructuring in bankruptcy. It's also an adviser in the ongoing liquidation of disgraced investor Bernard Madoff's firm.

Earlier this month, Irving, Texas-based Hostess selected Flowers Foods Inc. to buy its six bread brands, including Wonder Bread, along with 20 bakeries and 38 depots, for $390 million.

Flowers Foods, based in Thomasville, Ga., was selected as the stalking horse bidder for the bread brands. That means higher competing bids can still be made and the final deal must be approved in bankruptcy court.

Hostess is expected to find buyers for its dessert cakes, which include its iconic Twinkies and Ding Dongs, along with the Drake's Cakes and Dolly Madison brands, in the coming weeks.

Gordian President Peter Kaufman said his company will try to ensure that potential buyers hire former Hostess workers and honor Hostess' pension obligations.

"Given the sale process that is under way, we believe the bakers working with a buyer create the opportunity to increase value and are pivotal to the success of the business," Kaufman said in a statement. "Buyers should know that the Bakers are very interested in having direct discussions with them."

The Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund pays out $42 million in benefits per month to 52,000 pensioners, according to its website.

Hostess filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2012 after years of management turmoil and turnover. A bankruptcy judge approved its plan to liquidate its assets in November after it failed to reach a new contract agreement with the bakers' union.

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Only 23% of Brands Are Using Online Video Advertising

A new study from Kantar Media has found that 77 percent of brands are using national TV advertising exclusively.

According to the study, only 23 percent of the brands surveyed were using online video. About 12 percent of brands reported that they were using both online video and national TV advertising. While another 11 percent said they were using online video advertising only.

Kantar Media says that the restaurant and automotive industries were the most likely to use both advertising video platforms in the month of October.

According to the study, 43 percent of the restaurant industry was using both online and national TV video ads. Kantar Media also found that 30 percent of automotive firms were using the two-platform video advertising method.

The study reported that Internet communications and content companies were the most likely to use an online-only method for video advertising. Kantar says that 39 percent of Internet content and communications companies are using online video advertising exclusively.

Resort and travel companies were the second most likely industry to use an online-only video advertising strategy. According to the study, 28 percent of resort and travel companies were using an online-only method for video advertising.

The reports of companies moving to online video advertising exclusively come as consumers continue to view more online video. According to a recent study from comScore, 11 billion online video ads were seen in October.

ComScore reported last November that over 88 percent of online users watched at least one online video in October. According to the firm's report, 22 percent of online video seen during the month were ads.

Another report from Adap.TV found that national television advertising budgets were being reduced in an effort to bring more funding to the online ad space. According to Adap.TV's report 34 percent of advertisers surveyed were reducing broadcast advertising budgets to make room for online video ad spending.

Kantar Media came up with its statistics by surveying more than 4,100 brands' advertisements. The study was commissioned in the lead-up to the firm's release of its new Online Video Measurement service.

This article was originally published on ClickZ.

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