Two Resign From Kodak Board

[Anonymous]

Two resign from Kodak board (represented KKR)

Two Eastman Kodak (EK.N) directors resigned from the board last week, the struggling photography company said in a filing with regulators on Tuesday.

Both directors – Adam Clammer and Herald Chen – were representatives of private equity firm KKR & Co (KKR.N) on Kodak’s board. Kodak said Clammer and Chen notified the company of their resignations on December 21.

The two directors joined Kodak’s board in 2009, after KKR bought $300 million of Kodak’s senior secured notes and warrants to buy 40 million of the company’s shares.

"No reason given. We thank them for their service," Kodak spokesman Christopher Veronda wrote in a brief emailed statement when asked why Clammer and Chen had resigned. A KKR spokeswoman declined to comment.

Bill Brandt, chief executive of turnaround consultant Development Specialists Inc and chair of the Illinois Finance Authority, said there could be two reasons that board members from the same organization would abruptly resign.

"One, they could be about to file bankruptcy. Sometimes if you can see that decision coming, you bail before it happens, and avoid having to be part of a directors and officers liability suit. Or, two, KKR may be trying to increase its stake in Kodak or bid on most of its patents. There would be a conflict of interest if KKR was doing that and its representatives stayed on the board," Brandt said.

Kodak has been struggling to cope with the collapse of its film business due to the dominance of digital photography.

Speculation flared in September that Kodak was on the verge of bankruptcy, after the Rochester, New York-based company hired restructuring experts. Last month, Kodak warned that unless it could raise $500 million in new debt or sell some patents in its portfolio, it might not survive 2012.

Kodak’s five-year credit default swaps were quoted at distressed levels earlier this month, reflecting a 92 percent chance of default on its debt in the next five years.

 

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/22/4140829/kodak-agrees-to-sell-gelatin-business.html
Kodak agrees to sell gelatin business
NEW YORK — Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday it has agreed to sell its gelatin business as the struggling photography pioneer looks to boost its dwindling cash reserves.Kodak is selling the Eastman Gelatine business to Rousselot, a division of the Vion Food Group. Terms were not disclosed. Eastman Gelatine produces gelatin used in photographic and printing processes as well as in food, pharmaceuticals.Kodak expects the sale to close within the next 30 days. About 95 Eastman Gelatine employees will transfer to Rousselot, and Rousselot will also gain a 575,000-square-foot production facility in Peabody, Mass. Kodak has been hurt in recent years by foreign competition and the widespread popularity of digital photography. With its cash reserves shrinking, Kodak warned last month it could run out of cash in a year if it doesn’t raise new financing or sell assets. The company has been trying to sell a group of 1,100 digital imaging patents, and analysts believe Kodak could raise $2 billion to $3 billion through licensing deals.Kodak is also suing Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd., saying their smartphone camera features infringe on image-preview technology Kodak patented in 2001. The company is also focusing on sales of commercial and consumer inkjet printers, workflow software, and packaging.Kodak’s cash reserves shrank 10 percent to $862 million in the third quarter. In November, it set a year-end cash target of $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion that excludes any intellectual-property licensing deals, down from a previous forecast of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion.The Rochester, N.Y., company also announced that Laura Quatela will become co-president on Jan. 1. She will work with Philip Faraci, who has been president since September 2007. Quatela, 54, is currently Kodak’s general counsel. She will be replaced by Patrick Sheller, the company’s deputy general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief compliance officer.In after-hours trading, Kodak shares jumped 7 cents, or 11.8 percent, to 70 cents. The stock is down 88.3 percent in 2011

[Author]

January 2, 2012 at 7:23 AM