Participants spoke with a business representative at the Eastman Kodak booth at an International Consumer Electronics Show.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A deal that Eastman Kodak would have received funds to produce drug ingredients that could have helped fight the coronavirus is on hold.
In a tweet Friday night, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said it was keeping the deal because regulators are looking into investigating trading activities that send Kodak shares on news of the initial deal.
“We will not proceed unless these allegations are dispelled,” the DFC said.
A probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission is focused on how Kodak, once known for producing camera film, revealed the deal with the government, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The Journal reported earlier this week that the investigation is in its early stages and may not be making any allegations of wrongdoing.
When the news broke, Kodak, which had a share price of $ 2.62 on July 27, the day of the announcement, hit $ 60 within two days. The stock closed at $ 14.88 on Friday. loss of 7.6% during the session.
Kodak published the news to local reporters in Rochester, New York, where it is headquartered, on July 27 then asked several stores that picked up the story to clear it, what they did. Questions were asked by sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and others on the possibility of insider trading involving the announcement.
White House economic adviser Peter Navarro praised the DFC on Friday for his move, saying he was “very disappointed” about the allegations.
CNBC reached out to Kodak for comment.
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