Kodak Shares Fall Another 10 Percent as Bankruptcy Fear Grows

Shares of imaging pioneer Eastman Kodak fell another 10 percent Thursday after they plunged 30 percent Wednesday after an afternoon report from the Wall Street Journal the company might seek to file for bankruptcy in coming weeks.

Kodak shares closed at 42 cents, down 5 cents, giving the Rochester, N.Y.-based company a market value of only $113.4 million. It has lost 93 percent of its value in the past year.

Kodak had no comment on the report. Earlier Wednesday, it announced fourth-quarter results would be announced Jan. 26. On Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange warned it might have to delist the 132-year-old company if its share price does not rise above $1 within six months and have an average price of at least $1 on the last calendar day of one of those months.

Kodak said it might not be able to guarantee that. Kodak shares lost 80 percent of their value last year. Kodak shares once traded above $90. The Journal report quoted sources saying Kodak was seeking $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing.

In the third quarter, similar reports about a bankruptcy filing also sent Kodak shares plunging and forced a Sept. 30 announcement the company had hired Jones Day, a law firm experienced with restructuring. Subsequently, Kodak shares rose as high as $1.25 but never approached their 2011 high of $5.85.

CEO Antonio Perez said he was confident Kodak would have a solid fourth quarter, meet cash obligations and complete its conversion to a fully digital company. Kodak has been trying to auction patents with values estimated to exceed $2 billion since August.

Last month, Kodak appointed a co-president, Laura Quatela, 54, who had been general counsel. The company didn't announce why her position was needed to complement co-president Philip Faraci, 55.

Last week, three directors resigned from the Kodak board, including Laura Tyson, a business professor at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as two representatives of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the private equity firm which acquired $300 million of Kodak senior secured notes in 2009. They were Adam Clammer and Herald Chen.