In its first-ever lead debtor’s-side assignment in a Chapter 11 case, Sullivan & Cromwell faced a challenge beyond putting Eastman Kodak on a path out of insolvency: keeping the company’s U.K. and global units clear of restructuring proceedings at a time when similar cross-border reorganizations often spawn bankruptcy-related litigation around the world.
The firm accomplished that feat by helping to craft the highly unusual settlement between Kodak and its largest unsecured creditorthe U.K. Kodak Pension Planthat was central to the reorganization plan S&C filed late Tuesday under which its longtime client expects to emerge from bankruptcy this fall as a far leaner operation focused on commercial printing rather than its iconic, and outdated, film-making and imaging businesses.
