Kodak and its U.S. subsidiaries
voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization
JAN-19-2012
Dear Valued Kodak Customer:
This morning Kodak and its U.S. subsidiaries voluntarily filed
for Chapter 11 reorganization to bolster liquidity in the U.S.
and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly
resolve our legacy costs, and enable the Company to focus on our
most valuable business lines. We are taking this step at
this point in our transformation in order to build the strongest
foundation possible for the Kodak of the future – and emerge
from the reorganization as a vibrant enterprise that will be an
even better partner for our customers and other stakeholders.
In light of this important announcement, and because of our relationship
with your company and its position as one of our most valued business
partners, I wanted to be in direct contact with you about this
development.
Most importantly, only Kodak and its U.S. subsidiaries are part
of the reorganization; subsidiaries outside of the U.S.
are not included in the filing, and we expect to continue to serve
all of our customers globally during this process. We
enter reorganization with what we anticipate to be sufficient liquidity
to ensure our suppliers are paid in full for goods and services
provided to us going forward, which in turn will assure our service
to you continues.
Chapter 11 does not mean Kodak is going out of business.
A U.S. Chapter 11 proceeding is different from a bankruptcy
in many other countries, or a U.S. Chapter 7 filing. Unlike
such proceedings which involve liquidation, U.S. Chapter
11 is a mechanism that generally focuses on the preservation and
reorganization of ongoing operating companies. Chapter 11 will
allow us to continue normal business operations while
we restructure our debt, costs, and other obligations, and gives
us much more flexibility to address these matters while preserving
the fundamental value of our business and operations.
Your partnership with us is of the utmost importance.
We want to assure you, our customers, that we remain deeply committed
to delivering outstanding products and the differentiated customer
service experience you have come to expect from Kodak. Since we
are continuing to operate our normal business, you should know
that we expect to continue as usual:
- Honoring pending orders and purchases, including exchanges
and refunds.
- Fully maintaining warranties, rebates, and other customer service
programs – both for our commercial customers and for consumers
who purchase Kodak products from retailers.
- Providing timely and reliable deliveries of purchased items.
- Providing our retailers with inventory, as scheduled.
The levels of service and support that you currently receive from
our dedicated and talented service teams.
In the U.S., we expect to continue in the ordinary course to perform
under all our pre-paid service contracts. Our non-U.S.
subsidiaries are not part of the filing, and their operations continue
in the ordinary course, including our commitment to pre-paid service
contracts.
Kodak will utilize the Chapter 11 process to accomplish several
goals, including providing Kodak with a commitment of $950 million
in debtor-in-possession financing that will give our vendors and
suppliers confidence in our position; fully enforcing Kodak’s
intellectual property rights against industry players that have
infringed our proven and valuable digital imaging patents, or spur
the monetization of our valuable intellectual property; ensuring
the remaining legacy costs are fairly apportioned and scaled for
a company of the size we are today; and actively managing the value
of Kodak’s enterprise for its stakeholders, including evaluating
our businesses to enable us to reorganize around our commercial
and consumer units.
Throughout, Kodak will continue to do what we have always done
- bring products and services to market that help our customers
do more, do it better, and do it faster.
All of us at Kodak appreciate your support, loyalty and
business, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our
relationship well into the future.
Sincerely,
Antonio M. Perez
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Eastman Kodak Company
 If
you have additional questions or concerns, we invite you to visit
our website at www.kodaktransforms.com, which has additional
information about our reorganization. Additionally, you can expect
to hear from your relationship manager in the coming days.
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