After 131 years of innovating the photography industry, Eastman Kodak is reportedly preparing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Kodak has been on unsteady ground ever since digital photography began decimating the print photo business in the mid-2000s. The company had an especially bad year in 2011, and the company admitted Tuesday that it would be de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange unless is improves its financials in the next six months. The company’s stock is down nearly 30 percent to a horrific 47 cents a share at time of this writing.
The Chapter 11 preparations, which were first covered by the Wall Street Journal, could make way for a lot of asset sales, chief among them patents. Kodak has a portfolio of 1,100 patents that it could sell through a bankruptcy auction. The company also employs about 19,000 people, and it could start to cut through the staff to create a leaner operation.
Anonymous sources in the Journal’s report say the company is looking secure $1 billion in financing that would keep the company going while it is bankruptcy proceedings. The Chapter 11 filing could happen as early as this month or in early February.
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Do you think Kodak can survive or is it time to put the cameras away?
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