Kodak to Sell Verbatim to Mitsubishi Kasei

Eastman Kodak Co. said it will sell its Verbatim floppy disk and digital cassette tape business to Mitsubishi Kasei Corp.

Mitsubishi, which in 1982 formed a floppy disk joint venture with Verbatim in Japan, will acquire all stock of the Charlotte, N.C.-based subsidiary. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The Rochester-based photographic company decided to sell Verbatim as part of streamlining measures aimed at concentrating Kodak’s resources on imaging-related businesses, Kodak officials said.

Verbatim, which has competed aggressively in the personal computer market, was founded in 1969 and acquired by Kodak in 1985 for $175 million.

Verbatim’s headquarters will remain in Charlotte and Mitsubishi plans to keep current Verbatim management, Tamura said.

Kodak will retain the businesses it developed jointly with Verbatim, including an optical disk program.