Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ) said that a consortium led by
Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corp. (RPXC) agreed to pay roughly
$525 million to acquire and license the one-time photography
giant's patents, helping Kodak move closer to its goal of emerging
from bankruptcy during the first half of next year.
Kodak said the transaction, which requires bankruptcy court
approval, also settles patent-related litigation with the
buyers.
The company said the patent sale also will allow Kodak to pay a
substantial portion of its initial borrowings to cover bankruptcy
costs and satisfy important requirements for a new financing
facility.
Last month, the company struck an agreement with creditors for
$830 million in loans -- but the loan was premised on the condition
that Kodak sold the patents for at least $500 million.
Once a Blue Chip company that employed 145,000 people world-wide
at its peak in the 1980s, Kodak has endured a long slide as the
rise of competitors and technological change ate into its lucrative
near-monopoly on selling film. It now faces steep challenges as it
tries to emerge from Chapter 11 as a much smaller company with less
diverse operations.
Kodak said the patent sale will allow Kodak to support its
commercial imaging technologies that will be a company focus going
forward.
Write to Tess Stynes at Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com
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