Dear AuntMinnie Member,
U.S. film giant Eastman Kodak rocked the medical imaging community today with the announcement that it is exploring "strategic alternatives" for its Health Group -- including a possible sale. A divestiture of the division could mark the end of Kodak's iconic brand in the radiology industry and could cause wide-ranging repercussions in the film and PACS market segments.
As reported by staff writer Erik L. Ridley in our PACS Digital Community, Kodak chairman and CEO Antonio Perez said that consolidation in the industry has prompted Kodak to retain an investment banking firm to advise it on a possible divestiture. The group's financial performance has slipped in recent quarters, and rising costs for raw materials like silver has prompted it to raise its prices in recent months.
Kodak's difficulties in the medical imaging market mirror the challenges it is facing in the consumer film segment, where Kodak is trying to manage the transition from traditional analog film to digital imaging.
The question is how successful Kodak will be in finding a potential buyer with the appetite to swallow a division with over $2.7 billion in annual sales in 2005 -- a number that would make it one of the largest medical imaging vendors if it were a standalone entity.
Still, Kodak has a number of assets that would make it a valuable acquisition target. The company has been making progress in the PACS segment, its digital acquisition products like CR and DR are well-respected, and its customer base of traditional film accounts represent a gold mine of future sales as they migrate to digital image management.
Read all about the Kodak announcement by clicking here, or visit our PACS Digital Community at pacs.auntminnie.com.
