Court documents unsealed this morning reveal that Taylor Corporation is the top bidder in a bankruptcy court auction to acquire Top 40 distributor Standard Register (asi/333647). Standard Register filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March to increase its financial flexibility, which included debts of nearly $184 million worth of loans to complete the acquisition of WorkflowOne, a former Top 40 distributor.

Shortly after that, the company announced it had agreed to be purchased by equity firm Silver Point Capital, but that deal was subject to a court auction. That auction reportedly happened on Monday, and court documents show that Taylor, the parent company of Top 40 supplier Taylor Promotional Products and Top 40 distributor Amsterdam Printing, agreed to bid $2 million more than the other top bidders. The total amount of the sale was not released. A hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. today in the federal court where Judge Brendan Shannon is expected to make a ruling on the sale.

Counselor has learned that three companies – including Silver Point and Taylor Corporation – have emerged as finalists to acquire Standard Register. Based in Dayton, OH, Standard Register reported to Counselor that its 2014 North American ad specialty sales were $118.8 million, a year-over-year increase of about 6%.

Follow Counselor PromoGram for more information on this developing story.