Eastman Kodak, once a mighty photography pioneer, has earned court approval for a plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a much smaller digital-imaging company.
The green light from US Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper in New York puts Kodak on track to exit bankruptcy in about two weeks.
“It will be enormously valuable for the company to get out of Chapter 11 and hopefully begin to regain its position in the pantheon of American business,” Gropper said.
Kodak was for years synonymous with household cameras and family snapshots. It filed a US$6.75 billion bankruptcy in January last year, weighed down by high pension costs and a years-long delay in embracing digital camera technology.
With the court approval, the company’s exit from bankruptcy is now imminent, chief executive Antonio Perez said in a statement.
“Next, we move on to emergence as a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets,” he said, adding the company will have a leaner structure and a stronger balance sheet.