Kodak's Bankruptcy Reorganization Approved

Will become a commercial printing company that no longer sells to consumers

Eastman Kodak Co., which dominated the photography industry before being hobbled by digital competition, won court approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy as a commercial printing company that sells nothing to consumers.

The plan, which cuts about $4.1 billion of debt, was approved today by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper in Manhattan. It affirms Kodak's move away from cameras, film sales and consumer photo developing, which made it a household name, to focus on printing technology for corporate customers.

"Kodak is one of the best-known names of American business," Gropper said today. "Its decline in bankruptcy is a tragedy of American economic life."