JM Smucker nears roughly $5b deal to buy Hostess Brands

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters): Jif peanut butter maker J.M. Smucker is nearing a deal to buy Hostess Brands, the owner of Twinkies snack cakes, for close to $5 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The deal value excludes Hostess' net debt of about $900 million, the sources told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential.
Shares of Hostess were up about 7 per cent in premarket trading on Monday.
Hostess has a market capitalization of about $3.73 billion, according to LSEG data, after a nearly 27 per cent jump in its stock since Aug. 25, when Reuters reported the company was exploring a sale after fielding takeover interest from major food makers.
Hostess and J.M. Smucker did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment outside regular business hours. The Wall Street Journal first reported on a potential deal.