Kodak Reaches Agreement to Form Strategic Relationship with HuaGuang
August 05 2019 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
Move designed to accelerate KODAK SONORA
Process Free Plates growth in China
Today Eastman Kodak Company announced it has reached an
agreement with Lucky HuaGuang Graphics Co. Ltd (“HuaGuang”) to
establish a strategic relationship in the People’s Republic of
China, including Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan (“China”). By
partnering with one of the largest graphics players in a region
that is seeing a growing demand for resource-efficient solutions,
Kodak seeks to significantly increase the adoption of its SONORA
plates in China.
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The Kodak/HuaGuang relationship will be comprised of an
agreement for Kodak to sell its offset printing plates facility in
Xiamen, China to HuaGuang, a supply agreement for HuaGuang to help
Kodak fulfill its existing customer demand, and an IP agreement
under which Kodak licenses its technology to HuaGuang to expand the
market in China.
This relationship will leverage the combined strength of
HuaGuang’s market leadership and world-class Kodak technology,
which together are expected to accelerate the broad conversion to
Kodak’s process free technologies in China.
“The endorsement of SONORA by one of the biggest players in the
industry is a testament to the strength of Kodak’s technology,”
said John O’Grady, Senior Vice President, Kodak. “We are excited to
work with HuaGuang to advance the conversion of China’s print
market to process free plates and help print industry customers –
and those they serve – lower their environmental impact.”
Kodak and HuaGuang have successfully collaborated in a variety
of different business models and cooperative ventures spanning
decades, building a history of mutual trust and respect that
underpins the current deal.
Mr. Zhang, Tao, President of HuaGuang, mentioned, “Kodak is a
well-known company in the prepress field, the new cooperation with
Kodak can speed up the conversion of offset plates to process free
plates in China, which will promote the process of green
environmental protection in the printing industry in China.”
Customers in the region will experience no interruption in
supply, and the companies will work together to ensure the delivery
of new, innovative products moving forward.
Kodak will maintain its current go-to-market structure in China,
with expectations that SONORA volumes will continue to ramp up,
alongside growing sales of the full portfolio of Kodak
solutions.
The relationship is expected to be formally established at a
closing in the third quarter of 2019, subject to the satisfaction
of customary closing conditions.
Kodak and Sonora are trademarks of the Eastman Kodak
Company.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release that are not
statements of historical or current fact constitute
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of
the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may be
identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,”
“should,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe” and “plan” or similar
expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release include, without limitation, statements related to: the
establishment of the planned relationship with HuaGuang and the
timing thereof; the ability to meet conditions for the planned
closing; the entry into certain commercial agreements in connection
with the planned relationship; the potential positive impact of the
relationship on the growth of SONORA plates in China; and future
product supply and development expectations. These and other
forward-looking statements are based on management's current views
and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could
significantly affect expected results. Results may be materially
affected by factors such as: risks associated with strategic
transactions generally, such as the inability to obtain, or delays
in obtaining, third party consents and approvals; issues, delays or
complications in completing required carve-out activities to enable
the manufacturing facility to operate on a stand-alone basis after
the closing, including incurring unanticipated costs to complete
such activities; potential volatility in the capital markets;
unfavorable reaction to the relationship by customers, competitors,
suppliers and employees; conditions affecting the industry
generally; local and global political and economic conditions
including international trade tensions; and other risks described
in Kodak’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Kodak’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2018, Kodak’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2019, and Kodak’s Current Report on Form
8-K dated August 8, 2019.
Actual results could differ materially from those predicted by
the forward-looking statements. Kodak undertakes no obligation to
update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except
as may be required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190805005572/en/
Media: Nicholas Rangel, Kodak, +1 585-615-0549,
nicholas.rangel@kodak.com
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