Kodak stock triples on $765 million government loan — for drug production
Kodak stock soared Tuesday morning after it won a a $765 million US government loan to help produce pharmaceutical ingredients — part of an effort to reduce dependence on foreign drug makers.
Posted — UpdatedShares of Kodak, the onetime photography leader that now produces advanced material and chemicals, jumped 300% after the news of the loan was reported by The Wall Street Journal. The stock was up 230% in late morning trading.
The loan is the first of its kind under the Defense Production Act, according to the Journal.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was set to travel on Tuesday to Kodak's headquarters in Rochester, New York, to tour the 1,600-acre facility.
"It's going to be the renaissance of the great state of New York as an industrial power," Navarro said during an appearance on Fox Business.
Kodak's film legacy means the company has expertise in fine chemicals, Navarro said. He added the project will curb US dependence on countries restricting pharmaceutical and face mask sales during the pandemic, as well as cut into markets in China, India and Ireland.
He predicted 25% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients to make generic medicines in the US will be made at that facility and a companion Kodak facility in Minnesota.
The deal itself, Navarro said, goes through the Development Finance Corporation using Defense Production Act Title III. He added that the loan is "fully collateralized by assets and performance contracts so it's minimal risk to the taxpayer."
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