Eastman Kodak said today that it will get about $525 million for its digital imaging patents.

The sale achieves one of Kodak's key restructuring objectives. It follows other recent major moves that include an agreement for interim and exit financing to help the company emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, and resolution of U.S. retiree non-pension benefits liabilities.

Kodak said the deal will help it repay a substantial amount of its initial debtor-in-possession loan  and satisfies a key condition of new financing that required the sale of the patents for at least $500 million.

Part of the $525 million will be paid by 12 intellectual-property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX, with each licensee receiving rights with respect to the digital-imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents.

Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital-imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previous licenses.

"This monetization of patents is another major milestone toward successful  emergence," Kodak CEO Antonio M. Perez said. "Our progress has accelerated over the past several weeks as we prepare to emerge as a strong, sustainable company."

The price is a letdown for Kodak, which had been told by a consultant that the patents were worth roughly $2.4 billion.

Kodak filed for Chapter 11 in January, in part for the legal cover bankruptcy court would bring to such an asset sale. Selling the patents was a precondition for Kodak receiving $830 million in loans to get  it out of bankruptcy.

The proposed sale is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval.

Read Kodak's press release on the sale of digital imaging patents.