Kodak completes Ofoto acquisition

Mike Dickinson//June 4, 2001//

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Eastman Kodak Co. today completed its acquisition of Ofoto Inc., a rival online photography service.
The completion of the acquisition will accelerate Kodak’s growth in the online photography market and help drive more rapid adoption of digital and online services, Kodak officials said. The photo giant’s existing online offerings include Kodak.com, Kodak PhotoNet online and the “You’ve Got Pictures” service on America Online.
“Combining Ofoto’s capabilities with Kodak’s existing infrastructure delivers an unrivaled digital photography service to our customers,” said Willy Shih, president of Digital and Applied Imaging and a senior vice president at Kodak.
Ofoto will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Kodak. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded in 1999, Ofoto has 1.2 million registered members. It offers digital processing of digital images and traditional film, top-quality prints, private online image storage, sharing, editing and merchandise. The company employs 121 staffers.
ARS Inc., a market intelligence firm, recently ranked Ofoto as the leading online service. Ofoto led in three of four categories: ease of use, service and price competitiveness.
Ofoto, together with Kodak’s PictureVision subsidiary and kodak.com, will be the cornerstone of Kodak’s Internet imaging infrastructure and service offerings, Kodak officials said.