The maker of Twinkies is going public

Hostess Brands LLC, the maker of Twinkies has entered into a deal with Gores Holdings Inc to go public.

Hostess is expected to have an initial enterprise value of about $2.3 billion, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

The transaction will be funded by $375 million in cash held in Gores' trust account, and a $350 million placement by institutional investors led by Alec Gores, the holding's CEO, the companies said.

Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos and family, the current majority owners of Hostess, expect to hold a combined stake about 42 percent in Gores Holdings upon completion of the deal.

"We have evaluated a number of potential acquisitions for Gores Holdings and believe this transaction offers a superior option for our stockholders," Gores said.

(Reuters reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan, editing by Ted Kerr)