Kodak expects to exit bankruptcy in Q3 2013

Kodak expects to exit bankruptcy in Q3 2013

Now with a patent sale, new financing and asset offloads under its belt, Kodak’s homing in on when it might emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January, the imaging giant predicted it might finally exit its financial default by mid-2013, and now it’s filed paperwork with a New York court indicating it’s on track to meet that goal sometime during its third quarter this year. In addition to the timeline update, the Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement outlines how the firm’s debts have been settled and its future plans, which place heavy emphasis on its commercial imaging business. A hearing for the document and associated strategy is anticipated to be scheduled in mid-June, and creditors will arrange a vote afterwards to decide if everything’s to their liking. Kodak’s certainly not out of the woods just yet, but it’s plodding steadily towards the clearing.

[Image credit: Viktor Nagornyy, Flickr]

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Source: Kodak

Kodak offloads its film and scanner businesses to its UK pension group

Kodak hands its film and scanner businesses to its UK pension group

Kodak may have offered to sell key parts of its document imaging unit to Brother for $210 million, but even that amount is just a small step on the company’s long road out of bankruptcy. The company has been looking for a sweeter deal — and it just found one by settling with its very own UK Kodak Pension Plan. The agreement offloads control of both the document and personal imaging units (read: scanners and film) in return for eliminating a hefty $2.8 billion in claims and receiving $650 million in ‘considerations’ that include cash. Kodak has already received approval from the UK’s Pension Regulator and expects to submit its plans to a US bankruptcy court on Tuesday. We’ve also confirmed with Kodak that this will supercede the Brother deal as long as it’s approved, so there shouldn’t be any legal entanglements from changing suitors. As such, Kodak is well on its way to a healthier (if much smaller) company.

[Image credit: Pittaya Sroilong, Flickr]

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Via: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal

Source: Kodak

Kodak reaches deal to sell Document Imaging business to Brother Industries

Kodak has been attempting to sell many of its businesses in hopes of paying creditors back and emerging from bankruptcy. Today, it has entered into agreements to sell one of its businesses, its Document Imaging business, to Brother Industries, one of the leading global manufacturers of fax machines, sewing machines, as well as laser, label, and multi-function printers, for the price of $210 million.

Kodak reaches deal to sell document imaging business to Brother Industries

By purchasing Kodak’s Digital Imaging business, Brother will also assume the deferred service revenue liability of the business, which equals $67 million. The deal will not close until the court approves it however. The deal has to comply with regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. While the court is still in the process of analyzing the deal, Kodak will be allowed to seek out a better offer for its Digital Imaging business from other buyers, or through a court-approved auction. If all goes well, the deal should close in June.

Kodak’s Digital Imaging business will compliment Brother’s current offering of products and services. Brother will receive a portfolio of scanners, and image capture software and services. All of the products will enhance Brother’s appeal to enterprise users. Dolores Kruchten, the President of Document Imaging for Kodak, says,

“We are pleased that under this agreement with Brother, Document Imaging will continue to strengthen its position as a leader of information capture and management solutions for enterprise customers. Our valued customers will receive the highest quality product, world-class customer service and reseller support that have been the hallmarks of our business.”

Alongside its Document Imaging business, Kodak also hopes to sell its other businesses before the second half of this year. Earlier this year, the courts approved the sale of Kodak’s patents to many major companies, including Google, Apple, and Microsoft, for the grand total of $527 million. Eastman Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in January 2012, and it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy this year.


Kodak reaches deal to sell Document Imaging business to Brother Industries is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Kodak tentatively sells its scanning business to Brother for $210 million

Kodak tentatively sells its scanning business to Brother for $210 million

Kodak as we once knew it has been shedding its identity piece by piece, and today it’s selling off one of the more familiar cornerstones. The one-time photography legend has made an initial deal to offload its Document Imaging division to Brother for $210 million through a stalking horse bid. If no one else makes a sweeter offer, Brother is likely to take control of Kodak’s scanning hardware and software in an agreement that’s expected to receive bankruptcy court approval by June. It’s the end of an era for a company that’s all too familiar with ending eras — let’s just hope it gets around to starting one of them in the near future.

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Source: Kodak

Kodak closes its digital imaging patent sale, settles disputes

Kodak closes its digital imaging patent sale

Kodak has had many scary moments in its recent history, not the least of which was wondering whether or not it could sell digital imaging patents to help escape bankruptcy. It’s putting some of that trauma to rest now that it has officially closed the recently approved sale. The $527 million deal shares 1,100 patents with a complex web of companies, including Apple and Google, operating under alliances led by Intellectual Ventures and RPX. The buyers intend to use the patents as defenses against imaging-related lawsuits, and they’ve agreed to settle any remaining legal entanglements with Kodak in the process. Kodak still stands to gain the most from the deal, however: the cash helps repay a large chunk of a key loan, and it reassures the potential financiers that the company needs to leave bankruptcy by mid-2013. We still won’t get back the Kodak we once knew, but the name will at least soldier on.

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Court approves Kodak financing, could exit bankruptcy by mid-2013

Court approves Kodak financing, could exit bankruptcy by mid2013

When Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago, the company promised to re-emerge stronger than ever a year later. While that scenario has yet to play out, the gears do seem to be turning: US bankruptcy court Judge Allan Gropper today approved Kodak’s bid to borrow up to $844 million from Centerbridge Partners LP. That approval’s still conditional, mind you, on the completion of Kodak’s recent digital imaging patent fire sale (at “no less than $500 million”). Should that all pan out, the company plans to emerge from bankruptcy by “mid-2013,” no doubt worse for wear but better than a few years back.

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Kodak Receives Court Approval of Financing Agreement

Court’s Decision is Major Step toward Emergence

ROCHESTER, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In a significant step toward its emergence from Chapter 11, Eastman Kodak Company today received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Allan Gropper of the Southern District of New York for the company’s previously announced commitment from the Steering Committee of the Second Lien Noteholders Committee for interim and exit financing. This financing, which authorizes Kodak to borrow up to $844 million, strengthens Kodak’s position to successfully execute its remaining reorganization objectives, finalize its Plan of Reorganization, and emerge from Chapter 11 in mid-2013.

“Taken together, these accomplishments, along with other recent developments, such as the resolution of certain of our legacy liabilities, demonstrate the tangible and meaningful progress Kodak is making as it moves through the final phase of its restructuring.”
“The Court’s approval of this financing commitment puts Kodak in a strong position to emerge from Chapter 11. This agreement, in conjunction with the recently approved sale and licensing of our digital imaging patent portfolio, lays the financial foundation for our Plan of Reorganization and a successful emergence from Chapter 11 as a profitable and sustainable company,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Taken together, these accomplishments, along with other recent developments, such as the resolution of certain of our legacy liabilities, demonstrate the tangible and meaningful progress Kodak is making as it moves through the final phase of its restructuring.”

The previously announced financing includes new money term loans of $455 million, as well as term loans of up to $375 million issued to holders of senior secured notes participating in the new money term loans in a dollar-for-dollar exchange for amounts outstanding under the company’s pre-petition second lien notes. The financing is predicated on certain conditions, including the successful completion of the sale of Kodak’s digital imaging patent portfolio for no less than $500 million. The Bankruptcy Court recently approved the sale of this portfolio for $527 million, and the completion of this sale is expected in February 2013.

Upon meeting certain additional conditions, the approved financing also provides Kodak the option of converting up to $644 million of the loans into exit financing due five years after emergence. The additional conditions include the consummation of a Plan of Reorganization by September 30, 2013, the resolution of the company’s U.K. pension obligations, and the successful completion of all or a portion of the sales of Kodak’s Document Imaging and Personalized Imaging businesses, as detailed in the agreement. Kodak continues to make progress toward these objectives.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

This document includes “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning the Company’s plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, future revenue or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans or business trends, and other information that is not historical information. When used in this document, the words “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “forecasts,” or future or conditional verbs, such as “will,” “should,” “could,” or “may,” and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends and data are based upon the Company’s expectations and various assumptions. Future events or results may differ from those anticipated or expressed in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, among others, the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K under Item 1A of Part 1, in the Company’s most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q under Item 1A of Part II and those described in filings made by the Company with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and in other filings the Company makes with the SEC from time to time, as well as the following: the Company’s ability to successfully emerge from chapter 11 as a profitable sustainable company, the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern, the Company’s ability to obtain Bankruptcy Court approval with respect to motions in the chapter 11 cases, the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to prosecute, develop and consummate one or more plans of reorganization with respect to the chapter 11 cases, Bankruptcy Court rulings in the chapter 11 cases and the outcome of the cases in general, the length of time the Company will operate under the chapter 11 cases, risks associated with third party motions in the chapter 11 cases, which may interfere with the Company’s ability to develop and consummate one or more plans of reorganization once such plans are developed, the potential adverse effects of the chapter 11 proceedings on the Company’s liquidity, results of operations, brand or business prospects, the ability to execute the Company’s business and restructuring plan, increased legal costs related to the Bankruptcy Filing and other litigation, our ability to raise sufficient proceeds from the sale of non-core assets and the monetization of our digital imaging patent portfolios within our plan, the Company’s ability to generate or raise cash and maintain a cash balance sufficient to fund continued investments, capital needs, restructuring payments and service its debt and financing arrangements, the Company’s ability to manage contracts that are critical to its operation, to obtain and maintain appropriate terms with customers, suppliers and service providers, to maintain product reliability and quality, to effectively anticipate technology trends and develop and market new products, solutions and technologies, to retain key executives, managers and employees, our ability to successfully license and enforce our intellectual property rights and the ability of the Company’s non-U.S. subsidiaries to continue to operate their businesses in the normal course and without court supervision. There may be other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf apply only as of the date of this document and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this report. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Via: TechCrunch

Kodak S1 Micro Four Thirds Camera Targets Q3 2013 Launch

kodak s1 Kodak S1 Micro Four Thirds Camera Targets Q3 2013 LaunchKodak is not exactly the best example when it comes to being a company these days, but this does not mean that they have ditched the imaging industry entirely. Not quite, as JK Imaging, who purchased the Kodak brand for its own range of shooters, has just stepped forward to make an announcement concerning the S1, which will jump aboard the Micro Four Thirds camera bandwagon.

It is said that the Kodak S1 will roll out sometime in the third quarter of the year, but apart from that, we do know very little to nothing of the Micro Four Thirds camera other than the fact that it will carry integrated Wi-Fi connectivity in addition to a CMOS sensor from the folks over at Sony. Will JK Imaging be able to ensure that the good name of Kodak is not sullied with the release of the S1? Only time will tell, and we can do nothing but hope for the best and keep our fingers crossed. The thing is, we still do not know whether the Kodak S1 will be available on a worldwide basis or not, but let us hope that it will be.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Asus VariDrive USB 3.0 Laptop Dock, Atomic Battery On Sale For Consumer Use,

Kodak-branded S1 Micro Four Thirds camera teased for Q3 launch

Kodakbranded S1 Micro Four Thirds camera teased for Q3 launch

Kodak may have had a miserable time of it recently, but there’s still hope for those who want a digital camera bearing its hallowed name. JK Imaging, which bought the Kodak brand for its own range of shooters, is announcing the S1 — a Micro Four Thirds camera that’s destined to launch in Q3 of this year. We don’t know much about the hardware at this point, except that it’ll have built-in WiFi and that it’s hinted to carry a Sony-made CMOS. Let’s just hope JK Imaging turns out to be a worthy partner.

[Image Credit: PC Online]

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Via: 43 Rumors

Source: Leon (Sina Weibo), PC Online (Sina Weibo)

New Kodak branded micro four thirds camera from JK Imaging spied

Earlier this month during CES 2013, word surfaced that a company called JK Imaging had licensed the Kodak name for a line of digital cameras. The company has already plastered that Kodak brand name on its digital photography offerings and has unveiled the first digital camera in its new line of Kodak products reports eprice and Weibo. The camera is called the S1.

kodak-s1

Curiously, you can plainly see in the background of the photo here the Kodak PIXPRO Digital Camera branding. It’s unclear if this will be the S1′s official name or if that was another camera unveiled during the JK Imaging press conference. We don’t have all the details on the S1 at this point, but we do know it is a mirrorless camera.

That means a new Kodak-branded micro four thirds camera will be coming to market. If you’re somehow unfamiliar with micro four thirds cameras, they offer interchangeable lenses and significantly reduced size compared to normal DSLR cameras. That significantly reduced size is thanks to the fact that micro four thirds offerings don’t have the mirror system required of a DSLR.

The few specifications that JK Imaging is promising for the camera include Wi-Fi connectivity and apparently the camera will have some sort of smartphone interactivity. I would assume it would have the ability to shoot images over to your smartphone to share on the go. The camera is supposed to release in Q3 of this year at an unannounced price.

[via The Verge]


New Kodak branded micro four thirds camera from JK Imaging spied is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google, Apple, Microsoft given go ahead to buy up Kodak patents

Back when Kodak announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy and selling off a large number of its patents to help with restructuring efforts, we all knew this sell off would be huge. As it turns out, that feeling was correct, with major players in the tech field like Google, Apple, and Microsoft all vying for a slice of that patent pie. Today a Judge approved the deal for those three tech giants to buy up Kodak’s patents, to the tune of $527 million.

kodaklogo

That certainly seems like a significant amount of money, but it’s actually a very depressing amount for Kodak. The company was originally hoping to net $2 billion for the sale of its patents, so the amount it’s actually getting is a fair bit less than its target. In any case, Kodak will now use this money to climb out of bankruptcy, hopefully becoming a more efficient company in the process.

What’s more, this sale marks the end of a lot of patent litigation for Kodak, which is most important aspects of this deal. In all, 1,100 patents were sold off, but Google, Microsoft, and Apple weren’t the only buyers. It seems that a lot of big names were interested in snagging some Kodak patents, with companies like Facebook, Huawei, RIM, Adobe, Samsung, and Fujifilm also participating in the purchase.

Now Kodak has a tough road ahead of it. It’s never easy for a company to bounce back from bankruptcy, and it might be even harder for Kodak considering how much ground it has lost in recent years. Still, shedding a lot of pending litigation while raising a little cash on the side is definitely a good start, so we’ll just have to watch and see what happens to Kodak from here on out.

[via The Wall Street Journal]


Google, Apple, Microsoft given go ahead to buy up Kodak patents is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.