Eastman Kodak Co, which invented the hand-held camera and helped bring the world the first pictures from the moon, has filed forbankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for what remains one of America's best-known companies, Reuters reported.
The 130-year-old photographic film pioneer, which had tried to restructure to become a seller of consumer products like cameras, said it had also obtained a $950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to keep it going.
"The board of directors and the entire senior management team unanimously believe that this is a necessary step and the right thing to do for the future of Kodak,"Chairman and Chief Executive Antonio M. Perezsaid in a statement.
Kodak said that it and its U.S. subsidiaries had filed for Chapter 11 business reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Non-U.S. subsidiaries were not covered by the filing, it added.
Perez said bankruptcy protection would enable Kodak to continue to work to maximize the value of its technology assets, such as digital-imaging patents it licenses for use in mobile and other devices and its printing technology.
Kodak said it was being advised by investment bank Lazard Ltd, which has been helping Kodak look for a buyer for its 1,100 digital patents.
Eastman Kodak Company (commonly known asKodak) is amultinationalimagingandphotographicequipment, materials and servicescompanyheadquartered inRochester,New York,United Statesand incorporated in New Jersey.It was founded byGeorge Eastmanin 1892.
Kodak is best known for its wide range ofphotographic filmproducts. During most of the 20th century Kodak held a dominant position in photographic film, and in 1976 had a 90% market share of photographic film sales in the United States. Indeed Kodak's ubiquity was such that the phrase "Kodak moment" entered common lexicon as a personal event that demanded to berecorded for posterity.
Since the late 1990s, Kodak has struggled financially as a result of the decline in sales of photographic film, and 2007 was the most recent year in which the company made a profit.
