Rochester, N.Y. – Kodak gave an update on its long-anticipated patent auction and the news does not appear positive.
The company was hoping to raise more than $2 billion from the sale of 1,100 patents in its digital imaging portfolio. The auction began last week and bids were due Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported bids came in around $500 million. At the last minute on Monday, the company announced it was extending the sale.
Thursday morning, the company issued the following statement:
“Kodak continues to have active discussions with potential buyers of its digital imaging patent portfolio. As a result, Kodak is not yet prepared to announce the outcome of the auction process. The company reiterates that it has not reached a determination or agreement to sell the digital imaging patent portfolio, and may retain all or parts of it as a source of creditor recoveries in lieu of a sale if it concludes that doing so is in the best interests of the estate.”
“There’s no bonanza,” said George Conboy of Brighton Securities. “This appears to be bad news.”
Kodak could hold onto patents and continue to license them for revenue, but the amount of revenue from licensing has been decreasing.
Kodak needs the patent sale money to pay off creditors and climb out of bankruptcy. If a large sum of money does not materialize, it will present challenges to the company’s effort to restructure.
