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Kodak Files For Bankruptcy – Uses Final Stand Perk To Sue Samsung One Last Time

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Kodak is no stranger to lawsuits. In an attempt to keep from going belly up, the struggling company has been using their some 1,1000 patents to sue everyone from Apple to HTC. More recently, they even managed to shake down Samsung to the tune of $550 million for patent infringement claims having to do with Samsung’s successful smartphone line.

Well, today, Kodak has officially filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and in one last ditch effort to squeeze whatever they can out of Samsung, is once again going after the South Korean company — this time, by filing another patent suit against Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs. You can read Kodak’s full press release below.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Eastman Kodak Company (“Kodak” or the “Company”) announced today that it and its U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for chapter 11 business reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The business reorganization is intended 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. The Company has made pioneering investments in digital and materials deposition technologies in recent years, generating approximately 75% of its revenue from digital businesses in 2011.

Kodak has obtained a fully-committed, $950 million debtor-in-possession credit facility with an 18-month maturity from Citigroup to enhance liquidity and working capital. The credit facility is subject to Court approval and other conditions precedent. The Company believes that it has sufficient liquidity to operate its business during chapter 11, and to continue the flow of goods and services to its customers in the ordinary course.

Kodak expects to pay employee wages and benefits and continue customer programs. Subsidiaries outside of the U.S. are not subject to proceedings and will honor all obligations to suppliers, whenever incurred. Kodak and its U.S. subsidiaries will honor all post-petition obligations to suppliers in the ordinary course.

“Kodak is taking a significant step toward enabling our enterprise to complete its transformation,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “At the same time as we have created our digital business, we have also already effectively exited certain traditional operations, closing 13 manufacturing plants and 130 processing labs, and reducing our workforce by 47,000 since 2003. Now we must complete the transformation by further addressing our cost structure and effectively monetizing non-core IP assets. We look forward to working with our stakeholders to emerge a lean, world-class, digital imaging and materials science company.”

“After considering the advantages of chapter 11 at this time, the Board of Directors and the entire senior management team unanimously believe that this is a necessary step and the right thing to do for the future of Kodak,” Mr. Perez continued. “Our goal is to maximize value for stakeholders, including our employees, retirees, creditors, and pension trustees. We are also committed to working with our valued customers.

“Chapter 11 gives us the best opportunities to maximize the value in two critical parts of our technology portfolio: our digital capture patents, which are essential for a wide range of mobile and other consumer electronic devices that capture digital images and have generated over $3 billion of licensing revenues since 2003; and our breakthrough printing and deposition technologies, which give Kodak a competitive advantage in our growing digital businesses.”

Mr. Perez concluded, “The Board of Directors, the senior management team and I would like to underscore our appreciation for the hard work and loyalty of our employees. Kodak exemplifies a culture of collaboration and innovation. Our employees embody that culture and are essential to our future success.”
Kodak has taken this step after preliminary discussions with key constituencies and intends to work toward a consensual reorganization in the best interests of its stakeholders. Kodak expects to complete its U.S.-based restructuring during 2013.

The Company and its Board of Directors are being advised by Lazard, FTI Consulting Inc. and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. In addition, Dominic DiNapoli, Vice Chairman of FTI Consulting, will serve as Chief Restructuring Officer to support the management team as to restructuring matters during the chapter 11 case.
More information about Kodak’s Chapter 11 filing is available on the Internet at www.kodaktransforms.com. Information for suppliers and vendors is available at (800) 544-7009 or (585) 724-6100.

Kodak will be filing monthly operating reports with the Bankruptcy Court and also plans to post these monthly operating reports on the Investor Relations section of Kodak.com. The Company will continue to file quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will also be available in the Investor Relations section of Kodak.com.

[Via WSJ]

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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17 Comments

  1. Guess, theres no need for those guys anymore…seems like the other guys would have went down first. Guess, their times are soon…sheesh everyone is going down…it almost seems like.

  2. How many patents does kodak have? 11 hundred or 11 thousand.

    1. Does it really matter?

      1. To some people it does. It would be interesting to know.

        Some people just read. Some people read AND comprehend.

  3. Have to get with the times, average person takes pictures with a phone now and with phone cameras being so high grade it’s hard to justify getting a regular camera.

  4. Nice Call of Duty reference. 

  5. That picture is priceless!  COD MW3 FTW

  6. Source: WSJ.
    Stop reading
    WSJ officially supports SOPA and PIPA.
    anything these scumbags say has no value to me.

  7. 1. Saw the headline in my feed this morning
    2. Literally laughed out loud (great COD reference!)
    3. Thought to myself, “This post has to be from Chris”
    4. Saw that it was and laughed again in affirmation

    1. You and me both, my friend.

  8. Change perk to death streak to complete epic MW3 reference!

  9. R.I.P. KODAK.

  10. I have to agree..The pic and COD reference was pretty awesome!!

  11. Damn, I just purchased a Kodak printer. 

    1. They secured financing before filing.. they should emerge from this.

  12. Man I’m tired of reading about law suits. If they would put the money the use for their lawyers toward R and D maybe they wouldn’t be in this situation.

  13. best use a of call of duty metaphor I’ve ever seen.

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