School Specialty Inc., a money-losing distributor of non-textbook school supplies including art materials and classroom equipment, filed for bankruptcy protection and put the company on the auction block, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. School Specialty, based in Greenville, Wis., listed $494.5 million in assets and $394.5 million in debt in chapter 11 papers filed yesterday. The company has signed an asset purchase agreement with Bayside Capital Inc. for a proposed sale with competitive bidding supervised by the court, and Bayside will provide a $50 million loan, according to the statement.
