Kodak to File for Bankruptcy

Posted 01/04/2012 at 3:09pm | by Ryan Whitwam

30

Comments

Print

There was a time when film was king, and Kodak was riding high in the camera market. What a difference a decade can make. Kodak is now rumored to be planning an orderly Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing. The paperwork could be official as early as later this month. Kodak employs 19,000 people, but layoffs are likely in the event of Chapter 11.

The company is currently negotiating with lenders to secure around $1 billion to keep it afloat during the bankruptcy process. Kodak has little actual income currently, with its main assets being patents on several technologies integral to digital cameras. Kodak is reportedly still trying to sell the patents to avoid bankruptcy in the first place. Auctioning off these patents would also help Kodak get back on its feet after a bankruptcy filing.

Kodak’s last strategy of note was to sue over patent infringement, then sign licensing deals. Those cases petered out earlier in 2011. With its stock in the tank, creditors knocking at the door, and no consumer products to speak of, Kodak might have no choice but the courts.