Eastman Kodak

History

2020

Ex-heads of Kodak earned millions from sale of shares which never owned

On November 11, 2020 the Kodak company reported that a series of internal errors allowed five former heads to sell several months before - in July - an action for the amount more than $5 million. At that moment there was a message about the credit of $765 million for Kodak which provoked growth of share value more than to 2100%.

The chief financial officer of Kodak David Bullvinkl said that the company learned about a lack of the control facilities used for protection of assets. He added that the lack of proper control led to "unauthorized issue" of ordinary stocks when earlier confiscated share options were performed by the former heads in July.

The former heads of Kodak earned millions from sale of shares which never owned

As reported in Kodak, the former heads performed about 300,000 share options. The company incurred compensation expenses in the amount of $5.1 million in connection with an incident. According to Bullvinkl, the error of control did not lead to distortion of financial performance. Kodak is going to resolve problems until the end of 2020.

The company is going to exact about $3.9 million from ex-heads, considering share value at the time of their sale. According to Kodak, $3 million more can be returned due to tax withholding.

The unusual share issue followed after several months, uneasy for Kodak, which are followed by supervision of the company from regulating authorities. Stocks of Kodak rose 2100% in July, 2020 after the Trump's administration reported that it granted to the company the loan in the amount of $765 million for production of ingredients for medicines. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced investigation of how the company disclosed information on the credit only several days later after statements that insiders used news and the subsequent price rally of actions.^[1]

Corruption in Kodak: as top managers earned tens of millions from news about entry of the company into pharmaceutical market

In the middle of August, 2020 stocks of Kodak dropped almost by 45% after the companies refused the promised credit before completion of investigation. Apparently, top managers of the company decided to earn from news about opening of pharmaceutical division of Kodak Pharmaceuticals and broke laws on insider trade because of what they came into the view of law enforcement agencies. Read more here.

Contract with the U.S. Government for creation of production of components of the drugs Kodak Pharmaceuticals

In July, 2020 U.S. authorities signed the contract with Kodak company for 765 million dollars for creation of pharmaceutical production Kodak Pharmaceuticals which will make about a quarter of components of analogs of corporate drugs, the U.S. President Donald Trump at a press conference in the White House reported.

"My administration reached the historical agreement with the great American company, you remember it since good old cameras, Kodak company, on production of pharmaceutical components. And it will occur directly here, in America", - Trump told.

2017: Reduction of 7% of the state

Eastman Kodak reduces 425 people to compensate the losses in the amount of $46 million registered in the third quarter 2017. The financial report of Kodak for the three-months period was published on November 8 the 2017th then the company announced dismissal about 7% of the personnel with the purpose to reach the planned annual figures, Digital Trends tells.^[2]

Kodak announced dismissal about 7% of the personnel with the purpose to reach the planned annual figures

Among sources of financial straits in the company called the license direction within which Kodak grants the right to production under the trademark to third-party producers and also decline in demand and the growing costs in the largest division of Print Systems Division. Difficulties were observed also on other directions — Consumer and Film (release of a film and the consumer printing equipment) and 3D Printing (3D-printers and three-dimensional printing).

About 100 people of Kodak will dismiss at the enterprise in Rochester, the State of New York, the USA, and the others 325 — in other places. In total in staff of Eastman Kodak about 6 thousand employees. What types of products personnel cleaning can affect, in the company did not specify.

Despite quarter losses, Kodak expects to reach revenue planned for 2017 in the range from $1.5 up to $1.6 billion.

We are going to improve a situation with a cash liquidity due to reduction of working capital and measures for expense reduction among which — prioritization of the investments into technologies capable to make profit in the short term — the chief financial officer of the company David Bullwinkle said.[3]

2013

Brother Industries buys divisions of Eastman Kodak on products for document flow

In April, 2013 the Brother Industries company announced the beginning of the transaction on acquisition of assets of Division the Document Imaging ("DI") Kodak of Eastman Kodak Company. The agreement is the preliminary application according to the section 363 Codes of the USA about bankrotstve1, with the subsequent holding the auction according to the procedures set in the agreement. According to the last, Brother can purchase the specified assets for 210 million US dollars in a cash equivalent taking into account price correction and acceptance of separate liabilities of the company. Brother assumes the designated assets and liabilities of DI which include about 67 million a dale. The USA the postponed revenue of the company received as prepayment from clients.

If Brother is selected from quality of the winning bidder, and other equivalent requests will not arrive, with leave of the court and other regulating authorities, then the deal will be finally closed by the third quarter 2013.

Separation into Eastman Kodak and Kodak Alaris. Getting out of bankruptcy

In 2013 the company left a bankruptcy status, having separated into two structures — Eastman Kodak and Kodak Alaris. The first specializes in systems for commercial printing and inkjet printers, develops software for three-dimensional printing and sells licenses for right to use of a brand of Kodak and also releases a film. As for Kodak Alaris, it is occupied with production of a film and photographic paper.

2012

Apple and Google want to purchase 1100 patents of Kodak together

Apple and Google offered in December, 2012 Eastman Kodak companies more than 500 mln. dollars for its patents on digital image processing which are offered for sale as a result of its bankruptcy.

As reported Bloomberg, Apple and Google made common offering to purchase 1100 patents of Kodak relating to record of digital images and their processing. Kodak estimates the patents at the amount from 2.21 bln. dollars to 2.57 bln. dollars.

Such union of Apple and Google looks unusually, considering that the companies are irreconcilable competitors in the world market of smartphones. Their operating systems, iOS and Android respectively, together hold 86.3% of the world market, and 72.4% fall to the share of Android.

However similar partnership are frequent at sale of patents as they allow to remove risk of possible patent violations, Richard Erlikman, the former vice president for the intellectual property of IBM, and nowadays the president intermediary and IP Offerings consulting firm says. Such alliances help to save on purchase also.

"They decided to enter together this process to reduce the cost of purchase of patents of Kodak and at the same time to satisfy requirements of the business", - Erlikman explained.

The representative of Google refrained from comments, having said that the company does not respond to rumors. Apple also did not respond to the request.

Apple and Google at first applied for patents of Kodak separately, Bloomberg writes, and Apple got support of Microsoft and Intellectual Ventures Management company, and Google - support of RPX Corp company. (who is engaged in buying up of patents) and a number of Asian manufacturers of smartphones with Android. Each of two groups offered the amount less than 500 mln. dollars, and now they decided to combine efforts.

Kodak, the former leader of the industry in the field of cameras and digital image processing, sells the patent portfolio as a result of financial difficulties. In January the company addressed with the petition for protection against creditors according to the Code about bankruptcies of the USA (Chapter 11) and in November found the right to receive 830 mln. dollars on financing of costs for an exit from under protection, reported Bloomberg.

Claim for bankruptcy

On January 18, 2012 the company filed a lawsuit the claim for bankruptcy, having asked the authorities to protect corporation from creditors. At Kodak 6.8 billion dollars of debts at the total assets in 5.1 billion dollars collected.

Key figures in company management are at this time:

The chairman of the board of directors and the CEO — Antonio Perez (engl. Antonio M. Perez). The president of the company is Filip Farachi (engl. Philip J. Faraci).

The company makes:

• Photo and film. For fans and professionals.

• Lenses. Till 1914 Eastman Kodak company installed the simplest meniscal lenses, or lenses of third-party producers on the cameras, for example Rapid Rectilinear of Bausch & Lomb company. Eastman Kodak the slide of projectors, etc. released lenses not only for cameras, but also for projectors, enlargers.

• Digital photoframework is made since the end of 2000.

• Cameras for the instant photo. Kodak was the only producer of a film for Polaroid fotapparat from 1963 to 1969. The patent dispute between Polaroid and Kodak came to the end on January 9, 1986.

• Matrixes for digital cameras.
• Cinema and TV-show.
• Desktop inkjet printers and cartridges for printers. In 1999 the joint venture with Lexmark company is created.
• Industrial systems of inkjet and electrographic printing
• CTP devices and supplies for them
• Scanners

2011: List of the largest shareholders of the company

All stocks of the company are in free circulation.

For January, 2011 the largest shareholders were:

•  Legg Mason Capital Management (21,6 %).
•  Vanguard Group (5,5 %).
•  BlackRock Institutional Trust Company (5,1 %).

2009: Sale of LG of assets of OLED

On December 7, 2009 — it is announced the forthcoming sale of all assets of Eastman Kodak business-related on production of OLED, LG group. Nevertheless, in further Kodak will have access to this technology and will use it in the products.

On June 22, 2009 the company stopped production of the well-known film Kodachrome.

2008: The company among leaders in environmental pollution

Eastman Kodak is considered one of the largest pollutants of the environment in the USA. In 2008 Kodak won first place among corporations on amounts of emissions in the atmosphere and water in the State of New York. The institute of researches of policy and economy (Political Economy Research Institute) of the University of Massachusetts in 2002 delivered the company on the fifth place in the USA in the Toxic 100 list.

2007: Continuation of release of a film

Since 2007 the license for production of film cameras is not granted. The company continues release of a film of different rare formats.

2006

Cessation of production of cameras

Many early digital cameras for Kodak were developed and made by the Japanese company Chinon Industries.

In 2006 the company stopped independent production of digital cameras — production is transferred to Flextronics company (Singapore).

In 2005 — 2006 the license for production of film cameras was transferred to Vivitar company.

Change of a logo

• Beginning of the 1900th. The Kodak company for the first time in the world combined the name and a logo in one character.
• The 1930th. Be the focus of attention — the name of Kodak and red-yellow "corporate style".
• The 1960th. The wrapped corner is provided.
• The 1970th. The red-yellow style and the name of Kodak to which the frame and the element "K" are added remains the brand.
• The 1980th. The style of a font of the name of Kodak in the existing logo changes on more modern.
• 2006. The frame is removed, the logo becomes simpler. The rounded-off font and a peculiar writing of the letter "a" gives to the name more modern type.

2005: Cessation of production of black-and-white photographic paper and APS cameras

In 2005 the company announced cessation of production of black-and-white photographic paper.

At the end of 2005 production of APS cameras was stopped.

2004: Exception of actions of Industrial Average Dow Jones index

On April 8, 2004 stocks of Eastman Kodak company are excluded from structure of the Dow Jones index of Industrial Average.

In 2004 the company stopped marketing of film cameras in the USA, Canada and Western Europe.

1985: Eastman Kodak absorbs Verbatim

The financial needs for construction of additional production capacities led to the fact that in 1985 Verbatim was sold to the Eastman Kodak company specializing in the photo and cinema.

However after five years of cooperation of firm left.

1900-70'e

In 1976 the engineer of the company Steven Sasson developed the first digital camera with a size of matrix of 0.1 Megapixels. By Eastman Kodak it was delayed with production of digital cameras therefore lost a considerable market share.

Cameras for a film of type 126 (the size of a frame of 26х26 mm) were the most popular product of Eastman Kodak. Their production began in 1963. By 1976 60 million cameras Instamatic were sold.

Kodak broke own record: from 1957 to 1962 10 million cameras of the Brownie series were sold. In 1972 production of miniature cameras for a film of type 110 began. The company made everything that is connected with the photo: cameras, lenses (Kodak lenses), a film, chemicals, and other products connected with image processing, for example, printers. In 1966 the company had 100 thousand employees.

In 1936 the company created the first color film of type 135.

On July 18, 1930 stocks of Eastman Kodak company are included in structure of the Dow Jones index of Industrial Average.

At the beginning of the 20th century the Eastman Kodak company made a large number of models of cameras for the most different types of a film. In many countries of the world of Eastman Kodak had the departments. Some of these foreign departments produced own models of cameras. For example, the German Kodak AG released the camera Retina. Eastman Kodak had the departments and the plants in Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Spain.

In Russia at the beginning of the 20th century with distribution of products of Kodak the word "kodakirovat" in photograph value entered the use.

1900: Release of the camera for 1 dollar

Kodak Brownie — one of the most known products of Kodak (1900)

In 1900 Eastman achieved the objective — the new Brownie camera with a film on 6 frames was on sale for 1 dollar. The film was on sale for 15 cents. A series of Brownie cameras was produced in till 1970.

1892: Renaming of the company into Eastman Kodak Co.

After the long advertizing campaign of a brand of Kodak, in 1892 the name of the company changed on Eastman Kodak Co.

1890: Start of sales of the camera with a film on 48 frames

George Istman on the deck of the steamship. The picture is made the Kodak camera No. 1, 1890

In 1890 sales of the camera with a film on 48 frames began.

1888: Camera of Kodak first in the history and registration of a trademark

Promoting of the photo was George Eastman's purpose. In 1888 he invented the Kodak No. 1 amateur camera which looked as a small box with the lens transferring the circular image with a diameter of 2.25 inches to the film containing 100 frames and twisted in the round roller cartridge. Their form was distinctive feature of the scenes shot on this camera – they were round.

The camera with a film cost 25 dollars. On September 4, 1888 Dzhorzh Eastman registered a trademark of Kodak.

The camera Kodak was a small box (from here and the name "detective camera"), a little more than 6 inches in length, 3.5 inches width and less than 4 inches height.

Everyone who as it was written to instructions, is capable could work with it: 1. Direct the camera. 2. Press the button. 3. Turn a key. 4. Pull a cord.

It had a lens which transferred the circular image with a diameter of 2.25 inches to a film. 100 frames were located on a roller. When all roller was completely exposed, the camera was sent by mail back to Eastman who returned the camera the charged new film and sent hundred prints pasted on cardboard (or is so much prints, how many was suitable negatives), received from the first roller — and all this cost 10 dollars. And upon initial purchase the charged camera cost 25 dollars.

George Istman's slogan — "You press the button — we do all the rest" — explains emergence of the first public art which won the world popularity.

Dzhorzh Eastman said that the name of a trademark should be: short to have unambiguous reading, should not be associated with anything, except Kodak.

Presumably, the word of Kodak was offered David Houston. Houston was born in the State of North Dakota (in abbreviated form NoDak). He was Eastman's friend, the amateur photographer, the inventor. The Kodak company purchased patents for cameras at Houston. Letter K was a favourite letter of Eastman. He called it "a strong, acute letter".

1886: The patent for the camera box for the roller coil

George Istman in 1886 designed and patented the camera box for the standard roller coil expected forty eight negatives of 4 × 5 inches in size with the focusing optics and as he called, "an alligator lock" which not really well worked.

1881-1885

In 1885 the bobbin film of American Film was provided to public. Eastman employed the chemist Henry Rikenbak (Henry H. Reichenbach) for continuation of researches, and in 1889 began production of a film.

In 1884 Eastman and Strong transformed the company to corporation.

The company is founded in 1881 by the inventor George Eastman and the businessman Henry Strong.

1879: George Eastman developed the machine for drawing a photoemulsion on plates

In 1879 the bank employee George Eastman developed the machine for drawing a photoemulsion on plates. The patent for the machine for mass production of photoplates was granted in England. In 1881 the industrialist from Rochester Henry Strong (Henry A. Strong) founded Eastman Dry Plate Company.

Merger of other companies

The Kodak company in different years purchased the companies:

• American Camera, Massachusetts. Kodak in 1898 is absorbed and transferred to Rochester.
• Boston Camera Manufacturing Company. In 1890 Boston Camera Co was absorbed by Blair Camera Co company. In 1899 Blair Camera was absorbed by Kodak.
• Rochester Optical Co. Since 1899 Rochester Camera and Supply Co. — producer of lenses and cameras. Kodak in 1903 is absorbed.
• Graflex, USA. From 1907 to 1926 the company was division of Eastman Kodak.
• Century Camera Co., Rochester, USA. From 1908 to 1920 the company was division of Eastman Kodak.
• Nagel, Stuttgart, Germany. Kodak in 1931 is absorbed. On the basis of Nagel Kodak AG was created.
• Fotografiska AB, Gothenburg, Sweden is the Swedish distributor of Kodak. In 1966 Kodak is sold by Victor Hasselblad.
• ENCAD, Inc., San Diego, the USA — the producer of large-format inkjet printers. Kodak is absorbed on November 15, 2001.
• Ofoto, Inc, California, the USA — online photoservice. Kodak in 2001 is absorbed.
• Laser-Pacific Media Corporation, California, the USA — post-production service for film studios (production of DVD, etc.).
• Scitex Digital Printing, the USA — the producer of high-speed inkjet printers. Kodak in 2003 is absorbed.
• Applied Science Fiction Technologies, Austin, the USA — the developer of technology of scanning of a film Digital ICE. Kodak in 2003 is absorbed.
• Imaging business of National Semiconductor Corp., Santa Clara, the USA — the producer of sensors for matrixes of digital cameras. Kodak in 2004 is absorbed.
• Chinon Industries, Japan. In 2004 Kodak Japan is absorbed.
• Creo Inc., Canada. Kodak in 2005 is absorbed.

Notes