Hogan Lovells has advised the Trustees of the Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) on a comprehensive settlement of its claims against the Eastman Kodak Company (EKC), which includes the transfer of ownership of EKC’s Personalized Imaging business and Document Imaging business to the KPP, with a stated purchase price of US$650 million.
The Personalized Imaging business consists of Retail Systems Solutions (RSS), Paper & Output Systems (P&OS), Film Capture and Event Imaging Solutions (EIS).
RSS is the worldwide leader in retail print solutions with 105,000 KODAK Picture Kiosks globally; P&OS supplies photographic paper and workflow products; Film Capture sells still camera films for consumers and professionals; and EIS provides souvenir photo products at theme parks and other venues.
The Document Imaging business provides a leading and comprehensive portfolio of scanners, capture software and services to enterprise customers.
EKC, the guarantor of Kodak Limited’s obligations to KPP, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in January 2012. This resulted in the trustees of the KPP filing an unsecured claim for US$2.837 billion against EKC last year.
The cross-border, cross-practice Hogan Lovells team advising the Trustees was led by London pensions partner Katie Banks, supported by associate Jim Davis, with significant contributions from U.S. partner Christopher R. Donoho III and associate Daniel Lanigan on business restructuring and insolvency matters; partners John H. Booher and Michael J. Silver and counsel Derek B. Meilman on M&A matters; and partner Elizabeth M. Donley on commercial matters. Members of Hogan Lovells’ global employment, tax, IP, real estate, environmental, and antitrust and competition teams also provided major support on the transaction.
Commenting on the solution, Katie Banks, partner in Hogan Lovells’ London pensions team, said:
“This acquisition is a significant milestone in the ongoing process of achieving value for KPP from the Eastman Kodak Company bankruptcy process and a hugely positive step forward for KPP members.”
