News & Analysis

Pomona buys Kodak portfolio

The UK pension plan born out of the bankruptcy of photography giant Eastman Kodak has offloaded stakes in Bridgepoint and PAI Partners funds, among others.

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Pomona Capital has picked up a portfolio of stakes from the pension fund formed after the 2012 bankruptcy of camera giant The Eastman Kodak Company.

According to UK public filings dated between 6 and 9 April, Pomona used its Fund IX, which is in market seeking $1.75 billion, to buy stakes from funds managed by Bridgepoint Capital and PAI Partners.

According to a source with knowledge of the matter, these funds were part of a larger portfolio of mature private equity stakes offloaded by the pension as it looks to tidy up legacy private equity holdings.

The exact size of the portfolio and its pricing are not known.

Among the funds that traded hands are:

  • €4.84 billion, 2008 vintage Bridgepoint Europe IV,
  • €2.5 billion, 2005-vintage Bridgepoint Europe III,
  • €2.03 billion, 2001-vintage Bridgepoint Europe II,
  • €2.67 billion, 2008-vintage PAI Europe V
  • €2.69 billion, 2005-vintage PAI Europe IV.

Assets held by the Bridgepoint funds include clothing retailer Fat Face and cafe chain Pret A Manger, according to its website. Assets held by the PAI funds include French building contractor Spie.

The stakes were sold from the Kodak Pension Plan (No.2) Trustees Limited vehicle.

Kodak Pension Plan (No.2) was set up after the bankruptcy of camera giant Eastman Kodak in 2012, according to its website. The original Kodak Pension Plan, which was in deficit, could no longer be supported by the company and was set to go into the UK government Pension Protection Fund.

A deal was struck in which Eastman Kodak relinquished its obligation to fund the plan. In return, the trustees bought a number of businesses from Eastman Kodak and used the cash generated to pay off the plan’s deficit. The trustees then formed a new fund, Kodak Pension Plan (No.2), which offers better benefits than the Pension Protection Fund but not as good as the original Kodak Pension Plan.

Pomona Capital IX has been in the market since March 2016, according to data from Private Equity International. Investors include City of Tallahassee Pension Fund, which committed $15 million, and Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System, which committed $50 million.

The fund hit an $846 million close in April 2017, Secondaries Investor reported.

Bridgepoint, PAI and Pomona declined to comment. Kodak Pension Plan was not immediately available to comment.