Hostess surges 19% after the Twinkie maker agrees to $5.6 billion takeover by JM Smucker

• Hostess stock climbed roughly 19% Monday, while JM Smucker declined as much as 8%.
• Jelly company Smucker agreed to acquire the Twinkie maker for $5.6 billion.

Hostess stock jumped stock as much as 19% Monday after JM Smucker agreed to take over the Twinkie maker.

At the same time, Smucker stock tumbled about 8%.

The jelly company is set to acquire the long-time cupcake and donut producer for $5.6 billion, or about $34.25 a share. Smucker will also take on Hostess' $900 million in debt when the deal closes in January.

Hostess shareholders will get $30 in cash and 0.03002 share of Smucker stock for every Hostess share they owned.

Prior to Monday, Hostess stock has climbed 25% in 2023, even as price increases caused demand to slip for its flagship products, Twinkies and Ding Dongs.

Hostess had become a candidate for an acquisition earlier this year as investors grew concerned about its declining growth.

In 2016, the company had gone public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

As for Smucker, it also operates coffee and pet food brands, and has a market valuation of more than $14 billion.

The news marks the latest major packaged food acquisition as companies look to bolster their portfolios. Earlier this year, Campbell's Soup secured a $2.7 billion deal for Sovos Brands, while Unilever acquired Greek yogurt producer Yasso.