(Reuters) – Eastman Kodak Co has tapped investment consulting firm NEPC to maximize the value of its overfunded pension plan and use any surplus from it to pay down debt, the company said on Friday.
The move comes after Kodak reported late last year that the plan was overfunded by $1.2 billion.
Kodak, in conjunction with Kodak Retirement Income Plan Committee, has been exploring how best to preserve and maximize the value of the over-funding for the benefit of key stakeholders including current and former employees and shareholders, it said in a statement.
NEPC has been serving as an external financial adviser to KRIPCO since 2004.
Shares of the company fell 4% in morning trading. Bloomberg first reported the news on Thursday, which triggered a 53% surge in the company’s shares in the previous session.
Kodak, whose products once dominated the photography and film industry, is one of the biggest victims of the digital revolution. It now focuses on manufacturing advanced materials and chemicals.
(Reporting by Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
