Kodak going private? A bank CEO thinks it’s a good idea

The Buffalo Times reports M&T Bank CEO Rene Jones is widely rumored to be considering a not-so-hostile acquisition of Rochester-based Eastman Kodak Co. in a plan that would take the firm private. According to the article, the Buffalo-based financial institution is considering the play due relieve the long-traded public company from the pressures of quarterly reports, allowing it the breathing room to refocus its business.

According to the article:

Jones is believed to disagree with the strategy being pursued by Kodak CEO Jim Continenza, which has been to streamline the firm’s businesses and focus it on what he believes to be Kodak’s core competencies: industrial print and packaging.  He even canceled a project to launch a line of smartphones, which Kodak had been prototyping. While the firm books just over $1 billion in annual revenue, its operating loss this year was more than $544 million, and the firm’s market capitalization (as of the close of business on March 11th) is barely $350 million.

The article speculates M&T Bank would acquire the entirety of Kodak shares at $4.50, take it private and install a new management team. The article notes such an acquisition would be on the low side, in terms of dollars, for an M&T acquisition.