Eastman Kodak (EKDKQ) Patents’ Bids Come in At Lower than Estimated Worth – AAPL, GOOG, MSFT

As the auction for bankrupt Eastman Kodak Company(PINK:EKDKQ)’ patents draws to a close, the company has managed to get in bids worth less than $500 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday quoting sources.

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Interest has been lukewarm for the 1100 digital patents that are up for sale, as the company plans to pay off its debt with the proceeds of the auction. The patents have been estimated at a value of $2.6 billion. Kodak declared itself bankrupt in January this year and is currently under a court-led restructuring plan.

Bidders for the patents included Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) all of whom put in bids much less than the reserve price, the Journal said.

"Our patent auction is a complex and dynamic process, and is very much ongoing," Kodak spokeswoman Stefanie Goodsell told Reuters.

"We and all participants are still bound by the court order on confidentiality and cannot comment prior to an outcome."

The bidding process will continue over the weekend and on Monday at 2100 hours GMT, the bids would be submitted to the court by Kodak's lawyers.

Of the 1100 patents that are up for sale, Apple has laid claim to ten and has sued Kodak trying to prevent it from selling them. The camera maker got a partial reprieve when the court struck down Apple's plea in respect of two of the patents.

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Apple can however appeal the decision and move the case out of the bankruptcy court to a district court, where it hopes to get a fairer hearing based on merits of the case concerning its ownership and innovativeness.

Shares in Kodak fell nearly 6 percent to close at 32 cents on the pink sheets segment.