Bankrupt imaging giant Kodak is to sell off the very print film business that made it a force in the first place. The company plans to auction its legacy business in a bid to raise cash and move out of Chapter 11 administration by 2013.
Founded in 1889 Kodak helped ignite the consumer photography business by making film available to the masses.
However, the company was wrong footed by the onset of the digital age and its fortunes plummeted. It filed for bankruptcy in January this year.
The company will be selling off its entire imaging and document division, including kiosks for developing photos, still camera products and photo paper.
The inkjet printing division, digital imaging and movie film division will remain with Kodak.
“The initiation of a process to sell the Personalised Imaging and Document Imaging businesses is an important step in our company’s reorganisation to focus our business on the commercial markets and enable Kodak to accelerate its momentum toward emergence,” said Antonio M. Perez, chairman and CEO of Kodak.
“In addition, we continue our initiatives to reduce our cost structure and streamline our operating models in an effort to return the company to profitability.
“We are reshaping Kodak. We continue to rebalance our company toward commercial, packaging and functional printing – in which we have the broadest portfolio solutions – and enterprise services. These businesses have substantial long-term growth prospects worldwide and are core to the future of Kodak.
“We are confident that our competitive advantages in materials science and deposition technologies, as well as our know-how in digital imaging, will enable us to capitalize on those opportunities and extend our leadership in key growth markets,” Perez said.
Kodak image via Shutterstock
