Twinkies-maker Hostess, union agree to mediation; may avoid shutdown (VIDEO)
Shoppers are buying up every last box of Hostess brand snack cakes after the company announced it was going out of business.
Ding Dongs and Twinkies may not be dead after all, after Hostess and its labor union agreed to mediation Monday, the Associated Press reported.
The agreement came during a hearing in bankruptcy court and could prevent the Twinkies-maker from closing its plants and liquidating assets, plans the company announced on Friday.
More from GlobalPost: Hostess will shut down plants, liquidate assets
The move was met with near-mass hysteria in the United States and elsewhere, with some stockpiling Twinkies and other sugar-filled miracles.
Twinkies merchandise and other Hostess-related goods have also been going for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
More from GlobalPost: Twinkies-maker Hostess files for bankruptcy
According to USA Today, the bankruptcy judge hearing the case pointed out that the parties hadn't yet gone through the critical step of mediation.
“To me, not to have gone through that step leaves a huge question mark over this case, which I think will only be answered in litigation," Bloomberg quoted US Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain as saying.
Hostess Brands, Inc. initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, but said last week it was going under for good.
The company blamed its labor union for its ultimate downfall.