Only if they buy the whole thing. I think that liquidation means Bimbo (or whoever) can buy the name and/or the recipes without buying the actual company. The liquidation is so Hostess the entity can pay back those liabilities rather than pass them along. Alternately, Hostess can sell the liability along with one or more of the assets as an offset on the price. Like Jeep was when AMC held it, Hostess is a HUGE name. It might be worth taking on some of the problems to get access to the name/products/distribution channels.
I think you’re right. However, the judge overseeing the Chap 7/liquidation has to approve the sales and would not approve a transaction which did not contribute satisfactorily to pay off the existing huge obligations to bondholders. So the whole thing could stall. The highest bid for an asset won’t necessarily get the cake.