Pensions - Articles - Statement on completion of Kodak restructuring

 The Pensions Regulator has today responded to the announcement that the Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) has completed the acquisition from Eastman Kodak Company of the Personalised Imaging and Document Imaging businesses.

 The regulator provided clearance in April for the acquisition of the two companies and establishment of a new pension plan.

 The regulator’s interim chief executive Stephen Soper said:

 "This solution avoids the Kodak group’s insolvency and pension scheme members will benefit from the cash flows and growth potential of the two businesses. In our view, this is an important step towards reaching an outcome that best balances the needs of members, the Pension Protection Fund, the company and its employees.

 "There are still matters to be resolved with the pension trustees and PPF including monitoring and governance arrangements to provide appropriate safeguards going forwards. We plan to publish a report outlining how we approached the Kodak case in due course, once the remaining milestones have been completed."

 Mr Soper added:

 "Where businesses are in a distressed state, we’re prepared to be creative and work collaboratively with pension trustees and employers to explore the options in order to find viable outcomes. These situations are often complex and we encourage trustees and employers to approach us at an early stage if they are experiencing financial difficulties that threaten ongoing support to the scheme."