Reports: Kodak Ready To Sell Patents
By: Vanessa Herring
Updated: December 6, 2012
"On the one hand they sold the patents, they needed to sell them, that's
a win," explains financial analyst George Conboy of Brighton Securities
on the news of Kodak's potential patent sale. "On the other hand
management has been saying for years the patents were worth more than
two billion dollars and it's not even close so that's a fail."
The patent sale is expected to bring in more than $500 million. That's enough to meet one of three conditions to secure an $830 million loan to emerge from bankruptcy.
"We believe that when Kodak made the loan deal a week ago they felt very strongly they could meet these conditions," said Conboy. "In fact, we believe the deal to sell the patents has been essentially done for about the last week, we expect it to come in at about a $525 million price."
News of the potential deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Although the specific companies buying the patents haven't been revealed, companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google showed interest in the past and the paper says those companies could be part of the sale.
"It's unclear what the exact make up is now but it likely includes some of those companies that I mentioned and it looks like they've got a bid of more than $500 million and now it's a matter of dotting the i's and crossing the t's," said Wall Street Journal Bankruptcy Reporter Mike Spector.
If the deal goes through the company will have to resolve the British Pension problem and sell the document and personalized imaging businesses before it will get the loan. In regards to the pension, Kodak says there has not been any settlement reached, so therefore no amount set. After it's all said and done Kodak is expected to dig itself out of bankruptcy by the middle of 2013 and it will likely look a lot different, "it will never be the Kodak that it was," said Conboy, "but I think there will be a Kodak this time next year."
The patent sale is expected to bring in more than $500 million. That's enough to meet one of three conditions to secure an $830 million loan to emerge from bankruptcy.
"We believe that when Kodak made the loan deal a week ago they felt very strongly they could meet these conditions," said Conboy. "In fact, we believe the deal to sell the patents has been essentially done for about the last week, we expect it to come in at about a $525 million price."
News of the potential deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Although the specific companies buying the patents haven't been revealed, companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google showed interest in the past and the paper says those companies could be part of the sale.
"It's unclear what the exact make up is now but it likely includes some of those companies that I mentioned and it looks like they've got a bid of more than $500 million and now it's a matter of dotting the i's and crossing the t's," said Wall Street Journal Bankruptcy Reporter Mike Spector.
If the deal goes through the company will have to resolve the British Pension problem and sell the document and personalized imaging businesses before it will get the loan. In regards to the pension, Kodak says there has not been any settlement reached, so therefore no amount set. After it's all said and done Kodak is expected to dig itself out of bankruptcy by the middle of 2013 and it will likely look a lot different, "it will never be the Kodak that it was," said Conboy, "but I think there will be a Kodak this time next year."
