Apple and Google Submit Low Initial Bids for Kodak's Patent Portfolio

Initial bids for Kodak's patents from Apple and Google led consortiums came in lower than expected, reports the WSJ.

Kodak says the patents are worth up to $2.6 billion but it appears they may not get anywhere close to that, unless a bidding war ensues.

Kodak received two bids from investor groups pitting Silicon Valley giants Apple Inc. and Google Inc. against each other ahead of an auction set for Wednesday, people familiar with the process said. The bids from the two teams came in around $150 million to $250 million, the people said.

Those initial bids could rise quickly if Apple and Google compete to keep the patents out of each other's hands amid a legal battle over the lucrative smartphone and tablet markets. A year ago, Google started the bidding for Nortel Networks Inc.'s patents at $900 million before a consortium including Apple and Microsoft Corp. won the bankruptcy auction with an unexpectedly high winning bid of $4.5 billion.

Apple, Microsoft, and Intellectual Ventures Management have formed one bidding group. The group includes Google, Samsung, LG, HTC, and RPX.

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