1970-01-01 08:33:27
Lucky Film Co. Ltd., China's largest photo film producer, has ended its four-year partnership with Eastman Kodak Co., the Chinese company said on Tuesday.
According to an agreement signed between Kodak and Lucky Film last week, the American photo giant was given a seven percent stake in the Shanghai-listed firm. This offer was promised several years ago by the Chinese company in exchange for an emulsion production line on Nov. 8.
Kodak sold all its 20 percent share of Lucky Film, including the newly-acquired seven percent stake, to a Chinese venture capital company based in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, for 37 million U.S. dollars, Lucky Film announced.
The Lucky Film Group, the Chinese firm's parent company who gave out the seven percent, remained Lucky Film's top shareholder with a 43.16 percent stake, followed by the Guangzhou venture capital company, the announcement said.
Kodak is now undergoing a lengthy and expensive transformation into a manufacturer of digital cameras and printing services. Since late 2003, the Rochester, New York-based company has focused on the expanding market for digital devices, hoping to outpace the drop in demand for film.
Lucky film has also seen a sharp drop in its earnings in recent years. Its profits recovered a little last year, primarily from growth in its digital photo business.
Kodak's pullout from Lucky allows the Chinese firm to start a long-awaited stock reform that will permit holders of non-listed shares in the company to float their shares on the stock exchange, analysts said.
The two initially combined forces in 2003 in a cooperation plan worth 100 million U.S. dollars.
Kodak also announced last month that it will end its Olympic sponsorship after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The move is part of a redirection of the company's marketing strategies from photographic film to digital products.
The company has been one of 12 top-tier sponsors of the sporting spectacular for some 20 years, linking its logo and advertising with marketing efforts for the Olympics.
Source:Xinhua