Report says that funding will hinge on a $500 million deal.
A story from Reuters that appears today in The NY Times online and was originally reported by the Wall Street Journal states that Kodak (EKDKQ: OTC) will receive up to $793 million in loans from bondholders to emerge from bankruptcy if it can sell its much-discussed patents for at least $500 million.
Kodak has been trying to sell its patent portfolio for over a year and held an auction in September that generated tepid response.
WSJ reported that Kodak “remains in talks for a patent sale with potential buyers including Apple Inc and Google Inc.”
After an estimated initial range of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion dollars, and weak patent auction bidding reported at about $150 million to $250 million, it would be hard to believe that Kodak and its advisers did not already have a buyer or buyers in place for the 1,100 patent portfolio, which over the years generated much revenue but is said to be severely encumbered.
A sale at $500 million would suggest the patents on average are worth $550,000 each.
Illustration sources: printerinkcartridgesblog.com; thedroidguy.com
ipcloseup.com 