Belknap Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection.

The Louisville, Ky.-based firm is the nation’s largest independent hardware wholesaler. David Jones, the company’s millionaire owner, said in a statement that the firm had debts of $112 million and assets of $97 million. Jones, who bought Belknap in 1984 for about $35 million, is also the chairman of the Humana hospital chain. Jones said the firm had a “50-50 chance” of emerging from bankruptcy proceedings in “reasonably good shape.”