• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Kodak Update On Film Sale

Latest Gallery

Two Rocks

H
Two Rocks

  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
.

A
.

  • 2
  • 1
  • 6

Recent Classifieds

Forum statistics

Threads
203,583
Messages
2,856,768
Members
101,913
Latest member
General
Recent bookmarks
0
It's pretty much what we've talked about elsewhere in the Forum with the exception about some interest being expressed. But I'm reminded of the old saying, 'Show me the money'. Talk comes cheap.

It mentions 'private equity firms' which I guess would also be known as 'venture capitalists'. If Kodak doesn't make it out of Chapter 11, I would expect to see a VC firm pick up the pieces.
 
The logical buyer is Fuji, based on them having plenty of experience and interest in the same sort of things Kodak makes. At the same time Fuji already makes an equivalent of everything Kodak. Hard to guess where all of this will land. Nice to know the phone was ringing at least! I think more than a few people assumed there'd be little interest in a declining market item, even if in the short term there's a lot of profit to be made.
 
Actually, I think Fuji is the LEAST logical buyer. They already have all the Kodak patents they need.
 
Private equity would be bad. They would be looking to show paper profits in a couple of years and dump it off to some other unsuspecting fool. We want somebody with a long-term investment horizon.
 
Kodak is funny. Sell off the divisions that make money to go head to head with Epson and HP. They will lose........
 
donkee said:
Kodak is funny. Sell off the divisions that make money to go head to head with Epson and HP. They will lose........
Click to expand...

Well, frankly, if they spin off film and the new owners are successful I wouldn't give a damn what happened to the rest of Kodak - except that they are to continue making the film.

Fuji is between unlikely and certainly not interested, I think. We'll see.
 
VC would suck as owners. They are all invariably scumbags.
 
donkee said:
Kodak is funny. Sell off the divisions that make money to go head to head with Epson and HP. They will lose........
Click to expand...

In terms of brand positioning, Kodak needs to find and mark a new position on the market. The film biz is probably not interesting for them in a long term perspective, as little development of both products and brand value is possible in a decreasing business. Just because they say it goes good with their film sales, it doesnt mean they make enough money to see a long term increase in the profit from that business.


I'm thrilled to see how this ends, and if Kodak could get a B&W inkjet for professional photo done right, I'd be the first to buy one...
 
"The goal, says Olbrich, is to find one buyer that will take on both the Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging divisions, which encompass digital scanners, picture kiosks, souvenir photo products, photographic paper, as well as Kodak's legendary film
businesses."

Sounds like it might fit into the touristy business model of Disneyland.

I'll bet that Fujifilm has a speculative eye on proceedings.
 
That's great. Sounds like an interview I heard recently from a businessman "I don't need a tax break, I need someone to buy my product". Both somewhat fitting.

Jim

eclarke said:
Too much corporate mumbo jumbo bullshit..make stuff and sell it..
Click to expand...
 
Only 3 real options for Kodak film.

1. Fujifilm
2. Ilford
3. Employee buyout.

Anyone else will either be Wall Street hacks or people who have no idea how to run a film company. Private equity would be a DISASTER for Kodak.
 
RattyMouse said:
Only 3 real options for Kodak film.

1. Fujifilm
2. Ilford
3. Employee buyout.

Anyone else will either be Wall Street hacks or people who have no idea how to run a film company. Private equity would be a DISASTER for Kodak.
Click to expand...


I just don't think I see any one of those three having the interest and/or money to pull it off.

BTW, not all VC buyouts are disasters - they would probably expand the market, looking beyond the photographic industry for buyers.
 
Prof_Pixel said:
I just don't think I see any one of those three having the interest and/or money to pull it off.

BTW, not all VC buyouts are disasters - they would probably expand the market, looking beyond the photographic industry for buyers.
Click to expand...

VC arent going to have the patience it takes to make film work. Someone said that earlier in this thread. They will demand double digit returns on their investment in a few years maximum. VC would buy Kodak and sell it to a scrap yard if they could make money on it. Anyone thinking that VC is the answer is delusional.
 
RattyMouse said:
Anyone thinking that VC is the answer is delusional.
Click to expand...

I never said the VC alternative was to be desired, just likely if things go into Chapter 7. The County (Monroe) and State (NY) are very interested in making the Eastman Business Park (formally Kodak Park, but with several fewer buildings) work by bring in new industry to the area.

If photo manufacturing still made sense, a VC would work that angle, but I suspect would still look for other business to step in.


All this is highly speculative until next February or so when Kodak passes the Chapter 11 make or break point. A lot has to happen in the next 5 months.
 
The article contains a lot of hype and positive spin, a case of "well, they would say that, wouldn't they?"
Let's see some cash on the table!
Steve
 
I'd be extremely surprised if they found a buyer. They're trying to unload a lot of junk by tying it to their valuable name, while they hold onto the manufacturing. I just don't see anybody falling for that deal.

I think the problem is that Kodak is still way too big. They've gotten a lot of flak for all of the lay-offs, but I don't see any way to avoid that. If somebody does step up and buy the personal imaging business they're going to have to axe a lot of people too. I just don't see any company wanting to purchase Kodak's name and then be responsible for dumping the trash, axing everybody, and clean up.

Anyway it goes Kodak is going to be a lot smaller in the future.
 
Yashinoff said:
I think the problem is that Kodak is still way too big. They've gotten a lot of flak for all of the lay-offs, but I don't see any way to avoid that. If somebody does step up and buy the personal imaging business they're going to have to axe a lot of people too.
Click to expand...

You have no idea of how SMALL in manufacturing area people Kodak is right now.

Most of you have never seen Kodak Park (now Eastman Business Park) and may think of the manufacturing location as a couple of buildings. In fact, it is a city with its own railroad, fire department, electricity generation, heating and cooling services, water and sewage treatment facilities.

See Dead Link Removed scroll down for an aerial view image.

See also Dead Link Removed You can see a lot of empty parking lots that once were full!

Being a 'city' was great when Kodak was a manufacturing giant, now it just complicates things.
 
Kodak is not going head to head with HP or Epson or any individual or even office printer manufacturer. The niche they want to develop are the specialised graphics market. We are talking big behemoths of digital processing printers some 6-10 metres long built on all sorts of technology fr advertising, graphics, typesetting, etc.

Now, the decision to drop virtually everything else - including patents for CCD image capture - can be questioned, but the truth of matters is that here are the highest profit margins.

Film is not profitable (on the scale that Kodak built their plants) any more. No matter how much we all here love the medium.
 
Fuji would be crazy not to get in there and at least kick the tires a bit. No way Ilford could afford it, nor Kodak employees. It's likely going to be be some buyout shop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.

PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:
Ilford ADOX Freestyle Photographic Stearman Press Weldon Color Lab Blue Moon Camera & Machine
Top Bottom