Polaroid files Chapter 11

The company said it had entered bankruptcy with ample cash reserves sufficient to finance the Company’s reorganization under Chapter 11 and had not sought, nor did it expect to seek additional debtor-in-possession financing.

Mary L. Jeffries, Polaroid Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our operations are strong and during this process Polaroid will ship products to our retail partners, work with our suppliers and contract manufacturers to fulfill retailer demand, honor customer warranties and employees are expected to receive their regular paychecks without interruption. We expect to continue our operations as normal during the reorganization and are planning for new product launches in 2009."

According to Polaroid, the financial restructuring process and the bankruptcy filing are the result of events at Petters Group Worldwide, the company that has owned Polaroid since 2005. The founder of Petters Group and certain associates are currently under investigation for alleged acts of fraud that have compromised the financial condition of Polaroid and other entities owned by Petters Group. Polaroid and its management team were not subjects of the ongoing investigation involving Petters Group, the company pointed out.

According to a company spokesperson, Polaroid Europe and its affiliated national companies are not affected by the Chapter 11 filing of the U.S. company.