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Kodak selling off document imaging unit to Brother for $210 million

The once great photo business is selling itself off, piece by piece.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

Kodak announced on Monday that it is will be selling off its Document Imaging unit to printing solutions provider Brother.

Brother has agreed to pay approximately $210 million for the division, while also assuming deferred service revenue liability, which comes out to roughly $67 million.

If approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the transaction is expected to be completed by June.

Kodak’s Document Imaging business includes all of its scanners, capture software and services for enterprise customers.

Thus, it is presumed that Kodak's portfolio will be integrated with Brother's laser, label, and multi-function printers.

There wasn't much information about what would happen to the employees in this particular department at Kodak.

But Kodak CEO and chairman Antonio Perez hinted that Brother might keep at least some of them on, remarking in the announcement that a sale to Brother "represent an excellent outcome for Document Imaging’s customers, partners and employees" if it goes through.

The deal comes about as Kodak is in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. The beleaguered photo company has been looking to find cash in a number of places lately.

For example, back in January, a U.S. bankruptcy court approved the sale of 1,100 Kodak patents to a bevy of technology giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft.

The collection sold for only $525 million altogether -- a fraction of the $2.5 billion that the portfolio was reportedly worth.

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