Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Kodak raised spending on lobbying government in months before loan awarded

Published 08/11/2020, 11:54 PM
Updated 08/12/2020, 05:15 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A worker cleans a Kodak booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center in preparation for 2019 CES in Las Vegas

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A worker cleans a Kodak booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center in preparation for 2019 CES in Las Vegas

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co (N:KODK) increased spending on lobbying the U.S. government in the months before the Trump administration announced a $765 million loan to the photographic equipment maker, public disclosures filed with the Congress show.

The company spent $870,000 as "expense relating to lobbying activities" from April through June, according to the lobbying disclosures https://

Kodak had previously not spent any money on lobbying since an expense of less than $5,000 in the first quarter of 2019.

The company insisted it raised lobbying expenses while exploring support from the government due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"With the onset of COVID-19, Kodak, like many businesses across the country, explored federal support for the company and our workers, as well as opportunities to assist the government, on the state and federal level, in response to the pandemic," a company spokesman said in an emailed statement. 

"This included our application for a federal loan to support the launch of Kodak Pharmaceuticals with the intent to bolster the domestic response to COVID-19", the statement added.

The increase in Kodak's lobbying efforts was reported earlier by Bloomberg.

Kodak's $765 million loan agreement with the U.S. government to produce pharmaceutical ingredients was put on hold on Friday due to "recent allegations of wrongdoing".

Last week, senior Democratic lawmakers asked federal regulators to investigate securities transactions made by the company and its executives around the time it learned it could receive the loan. They cited concerns about insider trading.

Kodak said on Tuesday investigations by Congress and the Securities Exchange Commission have commenced, and could impact the loan's outcome.

The company also said it expects sales volumes and working capital to improve in the current quarter after reporting a 31% decline in quarterly revenue due to the pandemic.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A worker cleans a Kodak booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center in preparation for 2019 CES in Las Vegas

Latest comments

lobbying expense means exactly what? Is it bribe ???
Don’t short for too long, this company is going bankrupt after such scandal.
US has no choice but importing all from China. No one looks after US but imperfect law.
just another Demacratic scam investigation they hate Trump. He awarded a company a loan to help bring back big pharma from China and they don't like it.
That's 0.11% which looks normal. Which companies on earth wouldn't spend that to take that chance.
A scam of epic proportions is being revealed. This company needs to be delisted after paying back the shareholders. Oh wait, they don't even have the money to do that!
Short to the ground
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.