Kodak to Re-Price Stock Options

Eastman Kodak Co. plans to re-price stock options held by more than 61,000 employees because a 23% drop in the share price this year has made them almost worthless.

Employees with options to buy the stock at $37 a share can get new options at a 1-for-1 ratio, the camera and film maker said in a regulatory filing. They can swap two grants for one if their options are priced at $58 to $69.99. Options priced at $79 and higher can be exchanged at a ratio of 3 to 1. The stock fell 4 cents to $30.54 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Options representing about 31.4 million shares are affected by the re-pricing.

Although Kodak has announced plans to cut as many as 7,500 jobs and to halt annual bonuses for the first time since the Great Depression, it said it’s revaluing the options to motivate the employees who remain.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company plans to seek approval for the plan at a Jan. 25 shareholder meeting in Morristown, N.J.