Kodak Claws Back Shares, But Loan in Doubt

According to The Financial Times, Eastman Kodak reported that it had clawed back almost all of the $3.9 million five former executives collected last year by exercising share options they were supposed to have forfeited.

The episode occurred last July, when sources prematurely revealed that Kodak was being considered for a $765 million loan from the U.S. government to help it begin production of pharmaceuticals at its site in New York. Kodak’s share price shot up the day before the announcement was supposed to have been made – drawing critical scrutiny from the press and members of the U.S. Congress, with some U.S. Congress members accusing Kodak investors of insider trading.

Afterwards, the government said it would review the matter. Kodak conducted an internal investigation clearing it, and last December, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which would have issued the loan, announced its own investigation cleared Kodak of any wrongdoing.

However, according to Kodak’s recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Kodak stated it no longer believes it will obtain the loan. The aim of the loan would have been to help a U.S. company produce much-needed pharmaceuticals in the United States, since shipment of many drugs from overseas to the United States had been significantly delayed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, for its fiscal year that ended December 31, 2020, Kodak reported that revenues declined by $213 million compared with the same period in 2019. It also reported a net loss of $541 million, which included a charge of $416 million. Additionally, last month, it reported that it had obtained additional financing to invest in new growth areas.