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Kodak expects to exit bankruptcy in Q3 2013

Alexis Santos
Updated ·5 min read
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Now with a patent sale, new financing and asset offloads under its belt, Kodak's homing in on when it might emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January, the imaging giant predicted it might finally exit its financial default by mid-2013, and now it's filed paperwork with a New York court indicating it's on track to meet that goal sometime during its third quarter this year. In addition to the timeline update, the Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement outlines how the firm's debts have been settled and its future plans, which place heavy emphasis on its commercial imaging business. A hearing for the document and associated strategy is anticipated to be scheduled in mid-June, and creditors will arrange a vote afterwards to decide if everything's to their liking. Kodak's certainly not out of the woods just yet, but it's plodding steadily towards the clearing.

[Image credit: Viktor Nagornyy, Flickr]

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KODAK INITIATES EMERGENCE PROCESS: FILES PLAN OF REORGANIZATION AND DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Outlines Strategic Vision for Leadership in Commercial Imaging; Company Positioned to Emerge from Bankruptcy in the Third Quarter

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 30 --
Eastman Kodak Company today filed its Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement contain a detailed description of Kodak's post emergence business plan which maintains and extends Kodak's leadership position in the Commercial Imaging Industry. Kodak will help define the future development of that industry through its high-quality, cost-effective products and services, leveraging its unique combination of technological and market strengths and competitive differentiators. The Disclosure Statement also includes a historical profile of the company, a description of the proposal of distributions to the company's creditors, and financial forecasts.

The documents also describe the comprehensive settlement reached with Kodak's largest creditor, the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan, which includes the spin-off of Kodak's Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging and settles $2.8 billion in claims. That transaction was announced yesterday.

The company expects the court to schedule a hearing in mid-June to determine the adequacy of the disclosures contained in the documents to provide creditors the ability to evaluate the company's Plan of Reorganization. The company will then schedule a vote on the plan by creditors. In the interim, Kodak will work with its creditors' committees to obtain their support of the plan and may, from time to time, file amendments and supplements to the documents. The company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring in the third quarter.

"The filing of the Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement represents a major milestone in our reorganization: this initiates our emergence process," said Antonio M. Perez, Kodak's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We now have a clear path forward for Kodak, and we are positioning the company for a profitable and sustainable future.

"This process is clear evidence of the outstanding dedication and innovative spirit of the people of Kodak in serving customers worldwide and in supporting the company's transformation to a commercially-based business. Through the actions we have taken, Kodak has successfully fulfilled the four primary objectives for its Chapter 11 filing – bolstering liquidity, monetizing non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolving legacy liabilities, and focusing on our most valuable business lines."

Please see Notes to Editors below for a summary of the description of Kodak Commercial Imaging from the Disclosure Statement.

Kodak's Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement are at www.kccllc.net/kodak. The Disclosure Statement is subject to approval by the Court, and the Plan is subject to confirmation by the Court. This press release is not intended as a solicitation for a vote on the Plan within the meaning of section 1125 of the Bankruptcy Code.

NOTES TO EDITORS ON KODAK COMMERCIAL IMAGING

Kodak is a trusted leader in conventional and digital technologies that serve the $720 billion commercial, packaging and functional printing market. Kodak is focused on meeting customer needs and leading the Commercial Imaging industry, in which Kodak has a compelling and unique combination of advantages. These include:

Strong technology: Kodak's innovative technologies enable the company to provide its customers with qualitatively different advanced solutions and to shape the development of commercial printing markets in the future.

Strong market mix: Kodak operates in a highly advantageous mix of large, established and steady markets, which continue their digital transition, as well as early-stage markets with excellent prospects for dynamic growth.

Strong position: Kodak is a recognized leader in these markets, with cash-generative businesses in the large markets and excellent positioning to achieve volume and profitability gains in the growth markets.

The company's Commercial Imaging portfolio meets two distinct needs for its customers:

Transforming large printing markets with digital offset, digital print and hybrid solutions; and
Developing new solutions for high-growth markets.

Its innovative technologies are encompassed in two business segments:

Graphics, Entertainment and Commercial Films (GECF) includes Computer-to-Plate output devices that currently image more than 30% of offset printing plates used worldwide; digital plates like the innovative KODAK SONORA Process Free Plate which, as it is durable and does not require processing, improves cost savings, efficiency, and sustainability practices. GECF also provides front-end controllers for digital presses, and workflow and other software solutions for commercial printers. The unit also includes Kodak's leading films and services for the motion picture and entertainment industry; aerial and industrial films; and inks, chemicals and components.

Digital Printing and Enterprise (DP&E)includes continuous inkjet technologies like KODAK PROSPER Presses and Systems that deliver offset-class digital printing at very high speeds; electrophotographic technologies for short-run, personalized print applications; Kodak's industry-recognized FLEXCEL Solutions for use in flexographic package printing; and a variety of business services, including content, document, brand, and security management. DP&E also includes technologies for functional printing which will initially be used for touch panel sensors, and will expand to manufacturing of other materials including transistors, fuel cells and display screens.