Kodak preparing for Chapter 11 filing

[Andreas Wideroe]

News just out:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

[carllooper]

[MIKI-814]

Interesting for investors but not that much for filmshooters. Bankrupcy and chapter 11 only means what it means.

You can continue shooting...

[MovieStuff]

The problem that Kodak has in selling their company is they treated their employees so terrific that Kodak has pension and retirement commitments to past and existing employees. Anyone that buys the company right now will take on that massive financial overhead. But if Kodak files for reorganization, those responsibilities legally evaporate and all that is left are Kodak's assets, like their treasure trove of patents, which other companies would pay dearly for. Honestly, I'm seriously thinking of buying some Kodak stock at this point. It is down to 47 cents per share. Unbelievable. Imagine buying 1000 shares of Kodak stock for only $500. Then when it goes back up to $100 a share after the sale, you would make a cool half million. Wow. 8O

Hmmmm.........

Roger

[BAC]

Sorry Roger, those shares become worthless if they go into bankruptcy. If they can pull off a miracle and avoid bankruptcy then the stock would be a great buy right now but judging by the price most people are betting against them. If they do wipe out their dept and pensions and restructure they may have a viable company when they come out of bankruptcy. The debtors may end up holding all the stock in whatever is left. The other scenario is everything gets liquidated and sold off into pieces. If that happens who knows what will be left. I just hope someone is still making 8mm film.

[aj]

This should then be good news to all S8 (and other gauges) filmers:
30.10.2011 - 10 Jahre Filmkonfektionierungen bei Wittner Cinetec
A celebration article
http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/neu/n ... 20111122-1
Towards 2nd half of page, in German

Wittner has been spooling and filling S8 cartridges for 10 years now. They have plenty professional equipment and darkrooms. They expect and intend to be spooling and filling for decades to come

[mr8mm]

The irony of all this is that the Kodak Motion picture film division is making money but the digital divisions are a bust. Kodak has not been able to penetrate into the printer market. Kodak should get rid of the CEO. Kodak has lost money since he took over with the plan to turn Kodak into a digital company. Kodak is not a digital company it is a film company.

[Will2]

Anyone that buys the company right now will take on that massive financial overhead. But if Kodak files for reorganization, those responsibilities legally evaporate and all that is left are Kodak's assets, like their treasure trove of patents, which other companies would pay dearly for.

Exactly what they are doing. It's sad for the employees but they'll be screwed. I've been through it several times in the radio business. Bankruptcy has become just another financial tactic to remove all those pension and debt obligations.

Imagine if you could pickup all of Kodak's motion picture assets without having to invest in all that R&D. Even though the business is going south pretty fast, you could probably discount the product significantly and at least goose interest in film for a little bit more.

What a about a little more research into an ultra-fine grain film (gigabit film?) that could be billed as the 12k camera? Future proof your productions. Since well shot 35mm could pull 8k it is already the cheapest way to shoot an 8k production right?

Then buy up all those Spirits going for $60k now and setup a massive high-quality scanning and processing operation that would allow Kodak to sell the film, process and scan it to 2 or 4k for the same cost of just the film now. Just order your film from Kodak, shoot and FedEx back to them and have your footage downloadable within 3 days.

Without all those debts and obligations it could be possible.

[reflex]

In hindsight, it's obvious that the generous pension plans offered by companies like GM and Kodak were a result of baby boomer demographics and the genuine belief that product demand would continue to grow forever. I suspect senior management in the 1970s was alerted to the potential of potential shortfalls, but chose to ignore the warning because trouble would occur several decades after they were dead and buried.

[mr8mm]

The latest speculation regarding Kodak is that Kodak will exit the consumer printer and photo markets to concentrate on commercial printers and printing. A business to business operation. They will sell off patents and the film business. My assumption is that Fuji will buy the film business or the film business will go private. There is only enough film business worldwide for one film company. So, my guess is that Fuji will be the last man standing. -- J.S.

p.s. Also a lot of debt and legacy costs like retirees will be cut.

[reflex]

Kodak should enter the tablet computer business. I hear that's where the smart money is. :lol:

[carllooper]

Kodak should enter the tablet computer business. I hear that's where the smart money is. :lol:

The problem for Kodak, methinks, is just their brand.

The brand is so identified with film that if you saw (for example) a Kodak tablet you'd mistake it for a digital photo frame. And even then you probably wouldn't buy it.

The brand is just next to useless in selling anything other than film.

Could be just me though.

Carl

[Will2]

Kodak should have bought Nikon, Canon or Pentax when it had the money and gone hard core into consumer digital imaging when it had the chance.

With their patents and engineering they could have big players in any business that involved image science.

Hind sight is 20/20 and I'm sure their situation will be taught in business schools for years to come.

In the meantime, I hope they keep quality up on their motion picture products if the unit is sold. I also hope Fuji makes it a little easier to get their product in the U.S.

[grainy]

Kodak should enter the tablet computer business. I hear that's where the smart money is. :lol:

The problem for Kodak, methinks, is just their brand.

The brand is so identified with film that if you saw (for example) a Kodak tablet you'd mistake it for a digital photo frame. And even then you probably wouldn't buy it.

The brand is just next to useless in selling anything other than film.

Could be just me though.

Carl

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree about the non-film items. Plus, the general public all think Kodak is gone now, with the bankruptcy deal and the way it was reported ("the end of an era" and so on)
The technology would benefit from rebranding, but I think they should keep the Kodak name on film, esp. if Fuji buys it -- Fuji's stock is different stuff.
G

[reflex]

The problem for Kodak, methinks, is just their brand.

They did an excellent job of positioning themselves in the Kodak Memories business - use Kodak when you want a keepsake that you can hold onto for decades and share with your grand kids. People simply don't use photography that way anymore.

These days, my wife snaps interesting and timely photos to share on Facebook. Those images are used to spark conversation, and they have a very short half life. Tomorrow, it'll be something new.

The confluence of mobile phones with decent point-and-shoot camera capabilities and fast data connections makes it really easy to beam images directly online, and there's simply no place for Kodak in the new business model. The shift is especially pronounced in the teen and young adult segment. They have Hipstamatic. It's instant, cheap and makes everything look retro cool.

Meanwhile, the Kodak photo kiosks at our local big box department store stand unused for hours on end. Yeah, someone will eventually come along and order an 8x10 enlargement or prints of Christmas morning for grandma, but it's not a growth industry.