Kodak Alaris looking to divest paper, photochemicals and film unit, according to Inside Imaging

Australia’s Inside Imaging photo industry news site reports Kodak Alaris is looking is looking to divest its $34 million paper, photochemicals and film (PPF) unit:

While researching a separate – but perhaps related – story on Eastman Kodak possibly touting Australian photographers for direct film sales, Inside Imaging came across the Kodak Alaris financial report for the period January 1, 2017 to March 31 last year, which was lodged at Companies House in late December.

Kodak Alaris CEO Marc Jourlait told Inside Imaging that since the financial report has been available on the Companies House website, key customers around the world have been privately briefed on the plans to “explore sales of some or all of our assets” and that “PPF, in particular, we disclosed as at an advanced stage of negotiations with a potential buyers.”

Kodak Alaris was spun off from Eastman Kodak Co. in 2013, following the latter’s bankruptcy filing, to market Kodak-branded photographic, digital printing and business products. The company is licensed to use the Kodak brand (although film and paper are still made by Eastman Kodak. KA’s sole shareholder is the UK-based Kodak Pension Plan (‘KPP2’), which acquired the business for $325 million in cash.

According to the Inside Imaging report, the KPP2 trustees “intend to hand over what’s left of the Kodak Alaris group – after attempts to sell some or all of the various business units – to the UK Pension Protection Fund. This is a government-run fund which looks after people whose pension funds have failed them. Whatever is left of the business after attempts to sell off parts of it will operate as a going concern under the Pension Protection Fund ownership, according to Jourlait.

The report added the KPP2 pension fund currently has a $2.7 billion, which Jourlait explained was a debt inherited from Eastman Kodak in the initial transaction five years ago. Kodak Alaris itself is a “profitable, cash-generating” business,” the CEO said.

The four Kodak Alaris business units are Kodak Moments; PPF; Alaris ; and AI Foundry.