ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eastman Kodak Company has completed a transaction for the sale and licensing of its digital imaging patents for net proceeds of $527 million.
The transaction, which achieves one of Kodak’s key restructuring objectives, follows other recent major accomplishments that include final Court approval last week for the company’s interim and exit financing. Kodak’s monetization of IP assets further builds on its momentum toward emergence in mid-2013.
A portion of the $527 million was paid by 12 intellectual property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation. Another portion was paid by Intellectual Ventures, which acquired a substantial majority of the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses.
“The licensing and sale of our digital imaging patents is another major milestone toward successful emergence,” Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said. “We are on track to emerge as a profitable, sustainable company.”
The completion of the sale enables Kodak to repay a substantial amount of its initial DIP loan, satisfy a key condition for its newly approved financing facility, and position its core Commercial Imaging business for future growth and success.
Kodak retains significant competitive advantages and strong growth prospects in its core Commercial Imaging businesses. In addition to retaining rights to use the 1,100 digital imaging patents sold in the transaction, Kodak maintains ownership of about 9,600 patents, including many focused on its core business.
The transaction includes an agreement to settle current patent-related litigation between the participants and Kodak, which avoids additional litigation costs and helps to ensure that management and the company’s resources focus on enhancing core operations.
About Kodak
Kodak is transforming into a B2B company focused on its Commercial Imaging business. Kodak will be centered on commercial, packaging and functional printing solutions and enterprise services, markets in which it offers customers advanced technologies that give them a competitive edge. The company also offers leading products and services in Entertainment Imaging and Commercial Films. Its Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses are being marketed for sale. For additional information on Kodak, visit kodak.com.
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This document includes “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning the Company's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, future revenue or performance, capital expenditures, liquidity, financing needs, business trends, and other information that is not historical information. When used in this document, the words “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “predicts,” “forecasts,” or future or conditional verbs, such as “will,” “should,” “could,” or “may,” and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends and data are based upon the Company's expectations and various assumptions. Future events or results may differ from those anticipated or expressed in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, among others, the risks and uncertainties described in more detail in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2012, June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012, under the headings “Business,” “Risk Factors,” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations–Liquidity and Capital Resources,” and those described in filings made by the Company with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and in other filings the Company makes with the SEC from time to time, as well as the following: the Company’s ability to successfully emerge from Chapter 11 as a profitable sustainable company; the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to develop, secure approval of and consummate one or more plans of reorganization with respect to the Chapter 11 cases; the Company’s ability to improve its operating structure, financial results and profitability; the ability of the Company to achieve cash forecasts, financial projections, and projected growth; our ability to raise sufficient proceeds from the sale of businesses and non-core assets; the businesses the Company expects to emerge from Chapter 11; the ability of the company to discontinue certain businesses or operations; the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the Company’s ability to comply with the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) covenants in its Debtor-in-Possession Credit Agreement; our ability to obtain additional financing; the potential adverse effects of the Chapter 11 proceedings on the Company's liquidity, results of operations, brand or business prospects; the steps necessary to complete the monetization of our digital imaging patent portfolio; the outcome of our intellectual property patent litigation matters; the Company's ability to generate or raise cash and maintain a cash balance sufficient to comply with the minimum liquidity covenants in its Debtor-in-Possession Credit Agreement and to fund continued investments, capital needs, restructuring payments and service its debt; our ability to fairly resolve legacy liabilities; the resolution of claims against the Company; our ability to retain key executives, managers and employees; our ability to maintain product reliability and quality and growth in relevant markets; our ability to effectively anticipate technology trends and develop and market new products, solutions and technologies; and the impact of the global economic environment on the Company. There may be other factors that may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf apply only as of the date of this document and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this document. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.