Necco Wafers Saved By Lollipop Company
Necco Wafers have been saved by a sucker.
Spangler Candy Co., the makers of Dum Dum lollipops, bought Revere-based New England Confectionery Co., better known as Necco, for $18.8M at auction Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston. Spangler will pay $17.83M when the deal finalizes and then an additional $1M over four months, the Boston Herald reports. Bidding began at $15.25M.
The fate of the candy company has been uncertain in recent months, and it filed for bankruptcy in April. Necco had not been able to pay rent on its Revere factory. It had asked for permission to skip the standard bankruptcy auction and complete a $13.3M sale to Boston-based liquidator Gordon Brothers, which is already underway with the liquidation and closing of Toys R Us. Gordon Brothers dropped out of the auction when bidding reached $17M.
Spangler continued to bid against Roundhill, a food company that owns Hostess and Utz Potato Chips. Roundhill is the backup bid in case Spangler does not close Friday. Necco CEO Mike McGee is expected to stay on with the company through the summer.
“We started as a family-owned candy company,” McGee told the Herald. "We’re thrilled to work with a fourth-generation candy company that’s going to bring some new stewardship to our brand."
