Bain Capital to Acquire School Specialty

School Specialty, Inc. (SCHS), a provider of supplemental learning products to the pre-K-12 market, announced on May 31, 2005, a definitive agreement to be acquired by the private investment firm Bain Capital. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion.

The acquisition of School Specialty by Bain Capital for approximately 1.5 times revenues provides more evidence that, in the K-12 market, the channel is the value proposition. School Specialty’s repositioning from a low-margin reseller of school supplies to one of the leading suppliers of supplemental learning materials in less than half a decade illustrates the opportunities made possible when effective supply chain management is partnered with a multi-tiered sales model.