The 131-year-old Eastman Kodak and its US subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 19 January, after the digital imaging and pre-press giant ran out of money to finance its stuttering transformation.
According to Kodak, overseas subsidiaries however would remain unaffected by the filing and would continue to meet their obligations to suppliers.
The Chapter 11 restructuring, which is expected to continue through 2012 and into 2013, is needed to "bolster liquidity in the US and abroad, monetise non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the company to focus on its most valuable business lines."
These business lines are centred around Kodak's Stream inkjet printheads and Prosper presses and imprinting systems, which are expected to replace Kodak's dwindling film sales with ink revenue.
“Let me emphasise that only Kodak and its US subsidiaries are part of the re-organisation process,” said P N Raghuvir, vice president for marketing, India and marketing manager - retail solutions, Asia Pacific Region for Kodak India. “For all of our operations in Asia including supplies and services, it is very much business in the ordinary course.”
The Kodak press release states that Chapter 11 gives us the best opportunities to maximise the value two critical parts of its technology portfolio, one of which is what it calls its breakthrough printing and deposition technologies.
Raghuvir touches upon this part as a positive. “Digital printing and the CTP businesses are growing quite rapidly in India and we expect to participate actively in the market. We do not anticipate any changes arising out of the current filing,” he said.
“We will review all our operations, including ones in India on an on-going basis and take appropriate actions based on business needs. We expect that to continue,” he added.
This News article appeared in the 27 January 2012, Vol IV Issue 10 issue of PrintWeek India Magazine
10 May 2013, Vol VI Issue 1
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