Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ) is seeking to yet again extend the
exclusive control it has over its bankruptcy case for a few more
months, citing significant progress towards the targeted mid-2013
exit date.
The beleaguered photography company is asking the court to give
it until May 31 to file a bankruptcy-exit proposal without threat
from competing plans and until July 31 to seek support for the
plan.
The extension request, filed Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Manhattan, is Kodak's third in a little over a year. A
similar request last November was met with resistance from a group
of bondholders who argued that the company should have to
relinquish control of the case given the lack of progress and the
company's average $50 million monthly cash burn.
Kodak's latest request comes on the heels of a complex deal the
company completed for the sale of a trove of its digital-imaging
patents for $527 million, a process that has been more than a year
in the making and yielded a much lower price than Kodak had
originally hoped it would get. However, the sale moved the case
forward by settling patent litigation that could have further
stalled the reorganization process.
Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak filed for Chapter 11 protection in
January 2012 after years of facing challenges from competitors and
the proliferation of digital technology.
(Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review covers news about distressed
companies and those under bankruptcy protection. Go to .)
Write to Yogita Patel at yogita.patel@dowjones.com.
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