Private equity firm purchases Kodak Alaris, parent of Kodak Moments

Kodak Alaris announced Kingswood Capital Management, LP acquired the company from the United Kingdom Pension Protection Fund. Kingswood is a Los Angeles-based private-equity firm focused on buyouts of middle-market businesses and has significant experience in driving value for consumer and industrial services businesses.

Kodak Alaris was formed following the 2012 bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak Co., with a purchase of Kodak’s document, photo film, paper and chemistry, retail kiosks, and mobile photo apps businesses by the U.K. Kodak pension plan for $325 million. At the time, EK owed the pension fund $2.8 billion; the formation of Kodak Alaris was seen as a way to generate cash to maintain the fund for the benefit of the pensioners. Over the past decade, however, Kodak Alaris has struggled to maintain its financial obligations. For example, in 2020, Kodak Alaris, secured a three-year $50 million credit facility from the U.K. Pension Protection Fund (PPF), according to Australia’s Inside Imaging. The move was made just weeks before PPF became a part-owner of the business through the acquisition of the failing Kodak Pension Plan (KPP2).

By 2023, mainstream business reports indicated Kodak Alaris’ owners were shopping the company: Sky News city editor Mark Kleinman writes the PPF  “has kicked off talks with bankers about an auction of the company behind the ‘Kodak moments’ made famous by its multinational advertising campaigns.” Later that year, the Kodak Alaris financial reports indicated the company was still heavily reliant on the film business. In that report, the key Kodak Moments segment – comprised of film, kiosks, apps,  and other consumer photography lines – sales increased $332 million from $314 million, driven primarily by higher volumes of photographic film and higher prices, the company said.  The company said demand for film is still strong and sales are constrained only by the limited supply (from Eastman Kodak Co.)

On the kiosk side, the company said at the time, “Kodak Moments business successfully renewed long-term supply agreements with three key retail customers confirming retail photo services revenue into the future. The business saw modest growth in revenue in fiscal 2023 despite significant currency headwinds and supply chain disruptions. It is not practical to obtain reasonable fair value estimates for Kodak Moments without including Film.”

In a joint statement , Nicki Zongrone, President of Kodak Moments and John Blake, President of Kodak Alaris Business Unit, said, “The investment by Kingswood Capital is a clear endorsement of the enduring value of our offerings and a testament to our team’s hard work. We are delighted to have secured the backing of new owners who share our vision for the future of our business. We look forward to starting this new chapter guided by Kingswood’s robust operational expertise.”

“At Kingswood, our goal is to help companies reach their full potential by providing capital, bolstering its operations, and identifying avenues to achieve growth,” said Alex Wolf, Managing Partner of Kingswood. “We are excited to help continue Kodak Alaris’ strong recent performance and momentum.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the Kodak Moments and Kodak Alaris Business Unit management teams and global employee base,” said Andrew Kovach, Managing Director at Kingswood. “Both businesses have an outstanding reputation and heritage as leaders in their respective photography and imaging fields, and it is an honor to work with two companies held in such esteem.”

Lincoln International and Eversheds Sutherland served as Kodak Alaris’ advisors and Kirkland and Ellis, LLP served as legal advisors to Kingswood on the transaction.

Kingswood Capital Management, L.P. partners with leading companies in the middle market that stand to benefit from its capital and extensive operating resources. Kingswood embraces complexity and believes it is well positioned to support businesses at inflection points in their development to enhance value. Based in Los Angeles, Kingswood is a cohesive, entrepreneurial team with a long history of shared success developing “win-win” partnerships with its portfolio companies and management teams.