Kodak Initiates Chapter 11 Emergence Process, Outlines Strategic Vision

Eastman Kodak Company filed its Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement contain a detailed description of Kodak’s post emergence business plan which maintains and extends Kodak’s leadership position in the Commercial Imaging Industry. Kodak will help define the future development of that industry through its high-quality, cost-effective products and services, leveraging its unique combination of technological and market strengths and competitive differentiators. The Disclosure Statement also includes a historical profile of the company, a description of the proposal of distributions to the company’s creditors, and financial forecasts.

The documents also describe the comprehensive settlement reached with Kodak’s largest creditor, the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan, which includes the spin-off of Kodak’s Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging and settles $2.8 billion in claims. That transaction was announced yesterday.

The company expects the court to schedule a hearing in mid-June to determine the adequacy of the disclosures contained in the documents to provide creditors the ability to evaluate the company’s Plan of Reorganization. The company will then schedule a vote on the plan by creditors. In the interim, Kodak will work with its creditors’ committees to obtain their support of the plan and may, from time to time, file amendments and supplements to the documents. The company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring in the third quarter.

“The filing of the Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement represents a major milestone in our reorganization: this initiates our emergence process,” said Antonio M. Perez, Kodak’s chairman and CEO. “We now have a clear path forward for Kodak, and we are positioning the company for a profitable and sustainable future.

“This process is clear evidence of the outstanding dedication and innovative spirit of the people of Kodak in serving customers worldwide and in supporting the company’s transformation to a commercially-based business. Through the actions we have taken, Kodak has successfully fulfilled the four primary objectives for its Chapter 11 filing—bolstering liquidity, monetizing non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolving legacy liabilities, and focusing on our most valuable business lines.”

Kodak’s Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement are at www.kccllc.net/kodak. The Disclosure Statement is subject to approval by the Court, and the Plan is subject to confirmation by the Court. This press release is not intended as a solicitation for a vote on the Plan within the meaning of section 1125 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Source: Kodak.