Kodak to sell document imaging businesses, focus on commercial printing
24 Aug 2012
Eastman Kodak today said that it plans to sell most of its document imaging and personalised imaging businesses in order to focus on commercial printing as the iconic photographic film pioneer works to emerge from bankruptcy.
Kodak earns $1.3 billion a year from its personalised imaging businesses and around $466 million annually from its document imaging business.
Though the company has not mentioned how much it hopes to raise from the sale, Kodak needs $700 million to pay its creditors and emerge from bankruptcy.
Although the sale of its digital patents portfolio could fetch around $2.5 billion, the photographic pioneer has now decided to retain its patents to continue earning royalties from it.
The Rochester, New York-based company said that the sale of the units, as well as continued cost-cutting initiatives, curtailment of its legacy liabilities, and the sale of its digital imaging patent portfolio, will help it emerge from Chapter 11 during 2013.
The personalised imaging business consists of retail systems solutions (RSS), paper and output systems (P&OS) and event imaging solutions (EIS).