Kodak to Launch Third Round of Funding for Digital Token

(Bloomberg) -- Eastman Kodak Co. is looking for more cash to launch its long-awaited digital token.

Wenn Digital Inc., the company licensing Kodak’s name, is seeking $10 million to $40 million from accredited investors, starting May 21. The initial coin offering for the KodakOne coin, which aims to help photographers get paid for their works, has raised $3.25 million from three institutional investors so far. The firm expects to take in another $6.75 million in a second round of funding that should close May 18.

“An additional $10 million is what our business plan requirement is,” Cam Chell, co-founder of KodakOne, said in a phone interview. “We think ideally a total of an additional $40 million is the number we’d like to target." The last leg of the offering, first announced in January, will close after about a month, he said.

To help downplay the uncertainty that has risen around ICOs as U.S. regulators increase scrutiny of the alternative funding method, KodakOne is selling future rights to its KodakCoin tokens, rather than actual tokens, which will be released at a later date. The derivatives are known as simple agreements for future tokens, or SAFTs.

The offering is also registered as a security, Chell said. While investors paid only 25 cents per a right to a token last year, the last round will price it at $1.

Building upon Kodak’s iconic brand, the offering has received around 70,000 inquiries, and the firm has been contacted by thousands of potential investors who qualify, Chell said.

"We have tremendous interest and I think the market is garnering some comfort from a sense of the regulators out there," Chell said. "At this point all indications are it will be a very successful final piece."

To contact the reporter on this story: Olga Kharif in Portland at okharif@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Andrew Dunn

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