It's official: America's favorite snack is cleared to auction off assets for bankruptcy.

Hostess Brands Inc, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies, received court permission yesterday to proceed with auctions for several of its brands, including Twinkies, Fruit Pies, and Wonder Bread.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court cleared Hostess to sell off assets related to its Hostess and Dolly Madison Brands. The hearing to approve the successful bidder is scheduled for March 19.

Private equity firms Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co have set a baseline offer of $410 million to buy the company's snack cake brands including Hostess Twinkies and Dolly Madison, Hostess said last month. Working together to buy the 82-year-old baker, this bid would serve as the minimum offer for the Hostess brands, which could still be topped by others.

Source: Huffington Post