Tech Giants Apple and Google have come together to buy about 1,100 imaging patent of bankrupt Eastman Kodak for $500m.
Both the firms, competing for supremacy over the smartphone market, have joined forces after leading two separate groups during summer to purchase Kodak patents.
Kodak’s patent portfolio on bid includes innovation associated with capturing and processing images on cameras, smartphones and tablets and the other for storage and examining images.
The firm has drawn about $700m of the sanctioned $950m loan by the Citigroup and has issued nearly $114m in letters of credit under the facility.
In 2011, consortia including Apple, Microsoft and Research in Motion had acquired Nortel Networks’ more than 6,000 patents for $4.5bn out of bankruptcy, while Google lost the auction after making an initial offering of about $900m, according to Google.
Kodak, which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012, has a several digital imaging patents and anticipates that the value of the patents would be worth over $2bn at existing market rates.
Eastmam Kodak had earlier in August revealed a plan to sell its camera-film business and focus to commercial printing as the company plans to scramble out of bankruptcy.
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