Eastman Kodak Company today outlined its next steps toward a successful emergence from Chapter 11 reorganization as a company primarily focused on commercial, packaging and functional printing solutions and enterprise services. Accordingly, the company has initiated sale processes for its market-leading Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses.
Kodak believes that the sale of these assets, as well as continued cost-reduction initiatives, curtailment of its legacy liabilities, and the monetization of the company’s digital imaging patent portfolio, will be significant milestones toward completing the company’s reorganization and emergence from Chapter 11 during 2013.
“The initiation of a process to sell the Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses is an important step in our company’s reorganization to focus our business on the commercial markets and enable Kodak to accelerate its momentum toward emergence,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “In addition, we continue our initiatives to reduce our cost structure and streamline our operating models in an effort to return the company to profitability.”
In which an iconic company decides it wants to become just another B2B company.
» A sad subtext: The company that made one of the cameras that inspired Instagram’s square shape is so broke that they have to ask a court for permission to pay out bonuses to 300 key employees. Meanwhile, Instagram has right around a dozen people who are receiving cash and stock from a company likely to have the biggest IPO in history. With its direct visual inspiration struggling, Instagram is now worth 12 Kodaks. If there was a more perfect display of the concept of “creative destruction,” we haven’t seen it. (thanks Philip Bump)
131 years in the making: As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, the former film titan, whose business put cameras in the hands of millions of people, now enters a new phase in its long history, bankruptcy proceedings. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called it “difficult and disappointing news,” which is understandable; their company was headquartered in Rochester, NY. Since 2003, Kodak has laid off about 47,000 employees, and now in bankruptcy protection their already weak stock price has plummeted to 34 cents per share. If you want to get really depressed about this story, read Alexis Madrigal’s great piece on the company’s history. source
Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | The Verge
Patent lawsuits won’t save Kodak from an overhaul, it seems: as predicted, the photography company just announced that it’s filed for bankruptcy. Kodak says it’s voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in New York, in order to “bolster liquidity in the U.S. and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the Company to focus on its most valuable business lines.”
Having recently purchased a Kodak product and seeing how awful the user experience was, this is the opposite of surprising. Still sad though.
The end of an era: According to sources reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Eastman Kodak company sits on the verge of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and is expected to file within the next couple weeks. Once a colossus in the world of film, advancements in digital technology inevitably hurt the company’s profits, straining an outdated business model; they’ve failed to turn a profit five of the last six years. Kodak employs about 19,000 people, and has heavy responsibilities to retirees — this is certainly not what the private sector job market needs right now. (Photo courtesy of alf sigaro) source
Remember Kodak? The iconic film brand on whose film many of the 20th century’s greatest photos were taken? Well, today isn’t a banner day for them. Their stock has fallen as low as 59 percent — in a single day — after a report raised concerns about the company’s ability to turn around. They had to stop trading at one point, even. So, what’s next? Possibly bankruptcy. Last we heard of them, they were considering becoming a patent troll as a way to stay afloat. (incredibly fitting photo via Shiny Things on Flickr)
» Wait wait, how sad is this? Kodak, one of the great companies of the 20th century — and probably the one most deserving of a Paul Simon tune — has been relegated to patent troll status. Kodak claims that they hold the patent to an image-preview feature commonly used in cameraphones. The company has lost half of its market value in the past year.
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