Kodak Extends Auction Deadline, Plans to Sell Imaging Units

From DailyTech: Kodak has been fighting to emerge from bankruptcy for months. The photography giant has been preparing for an auction of two patent portfolios that were expected to fetch billions of dollars. Kodak's auction plan came under criticism from technology giant Apple, which claims that it owned some of the patents Kodak was trying to sell.

Apple tried to suit Kodak over the patents and was unsuccessful as the judge ruled Apple had waited too long to assert ownership over some of the patents. Selling off patents isn't the only way Kodak hopes to raise the money to pay creditors and emerge from bankruptcy. Kodak already sold off assets of certain online photo gallery services to raise money.

Kodak has now announced that it intends to sell off two of its imaging units known as the Personal Imaging and Document Imaging units. Kodak believes that the sales will be complete in the first half of 2013. Assuming the transaction is completed successfully, Kodak will be left with consumer inkjet printers and commercial film units. Kodak's commercial film unit sells film to the movie industry.

“We have to make some tough choices to build our future and this is one of those choices,” Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez said yesterday on a conference call. “Kodak’s goal is not simply to emerge but obviously to emerge as a profitable, sustainable company and today’s actions are moving us decisively along that path.”

Kodak has also announced that it will extend the deadline in its patent bidding auction past August 13. Kodak says that its creditors agreed to extend the auction deadline "in light of continuing discussions with bidders." There is no revised target date for the end of the auction.

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