Enron with a Cream Filling.

[Captain Boomerang]

(This is a heads up for someone wanting to do some digging.)

Hostess was already experiencing bankruptcy in 2009 when Ripplewood Holdings (A Private equity firm known for it's Vulture Capitalism tactics), acquired them.
Timothy C. Collins. CEO of Ripplewood Holdings & on the board of directors for Citigroup.
(Delegate for the last three years at the Bilderburg Group conference!)

Hostess did not have a finance department or treasury so a company named FTI Consulting provided them with with a few $$$-advisers.
(FTI Consulting involved in the bankruptcy cases of Enron in 2002)

"operating for at least six months or so with an outside consultant as their contract treasurer"

@ an hourly rate of $895.00 per hour per adviser + another $2,000,000 split among the advisors... http://dealbreaker.com/2012/01/if-only-twinkies-maker-had-had-someone-whose-job-it-was-to-remember-not-to-go-bankrupt/#more-63917

Hostess had assets of $980,000,000.00...
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/hostess-has-a-lot-of-debt-but-few-in-finance/

[limpyhobbler]

1. sounds like a gigantic Bain Capital kind of deal.

A venture capital buys a struggling company, takes out loans in it's name, runs it into deep debt, while enriching the capitalists. Then they sell everything off, close up shop and throw people out of work.

I haven't heard the Hostess bankruptcy discussed in those terms very much but it seems like it might have been a factor.