Eastman Kodak (KODK 0.21%) is selling off another piece of itself, announcing Monday that Brother Industries has agreed to make a "stalking horse" bid for certain assets of its Document Imaging business, which manufactures scanners and provides scanning software and related products to businesses.
Brother -- a leading manufacturer of laser, label, and multifunction printers as well as fax machines and sewing machines -- has offered to buy these assets for $210 million, assuming no better offers are received. In addition, if it wins the bid, Brother would assume $67 million worth of "deferred service revenue liability" -- essentially debt that raises the value of the transaction.
Kodak will now proceed to seek out higher bids for the assets, through means that may include a bankruptcy court-supervised auction. A final decision on the sale is not expected before June. Kodak CEO Antonio M. Perez was quoted by the company as saying, "A sale to Brother, should they prevail, would represent an excellent outcome for Document Imaging's customers, partners and employees."
