While Flowers Foods hasn't yet publicly stated any intent to buy any part of Hostess, the Thomasville, Ga.-based company, which is considered the nation’s second-largest baker in sales behind Grupo Bimbo, announced in November that it had renegotiated lending terms that could allow it to access extra cash, which might mean that it could be gearing up for a bid.
Meanwhile, Hostess reportedly has received a “flood of inquiries” from potential buyers, though it hasn’t commented on specifics.