Polaroid Corp

Polaroid Corp. created its first wholly owned operating subsidiary, Polaroid Eyewear Inc., in an effort to maximize the growth of its polarized sunglasses business. The company, which also makes cameras and instant film, said it picked Dean Butler, founder of the Lens Crafters chain, to be the unit's chairman. Polaroid said the sunglasses business had $50 million in sales last year and turned a profit. Polaroid Eyewear will be based in Braintree, Mass.

Chip Shot: For years, Polaroid Corp. marketed its instant cameras on a message of "point-and-shoot" simplicity. But now that photography has entered the digital age, even amateurs are going beyond that by using their PCs to do things like scanning, downloading and printing. So 50 years after introducing its first instant camera, Polaroid is entering the software business. The Cambridge, Mass.

Polaroid Corp. said Monday that it will separate its operations into three business groups in an effort to return the maker of instant film and digital imaging equipment to profitability. Polaroid said each of the three units--consumer, commercial and new business--will be responsible for developing its own products and marketing them to customers.

Polaroid Corp., which took advantage of Russia's tradition of street vending to build a national marketing network, now derives nearly 7% of its total sales from its growing business in the formerly Communist country. "We saw business increasing in 1994 and we expect it to increase substantially in 1995," Lance Roulic, Polaroid's director of marketing and consumer goods in Russia, said in New York. Svetozor, or Shining Light, Polaroid's 65%-owned joint venture in Russia, was profitable in 1994.

Polaroid Corp. is dropping the technology it pioneered long before digital photography rendered instant film obsolete to all but a few nostalgia buffs. Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures such as a portable printer for images from cellphones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, television sets and DVD players.

Beach house: An item in last Saturday's Hot Property column incorrectly reported that Polaroid was the owner of a Carbon Beach oceanfront property in Malibu listed for sale at $32 million. The house is privately owned and was rented to the Polaroid Corp. for parties.

Polaroid Corp., the 70-year-old photography-film company, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors more than two months after Tom Petters, founder of Polaroid parent Petters Group Worldwide, was arrested on allegations of fraud Oct. 3. Polaroid, based in Minnetonka, Minn., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Minneapolis. Petters Group filed for bankruptcy Oct. 11.

Polaroid Corp., the bankrupt pioneer of instant photography, was sold in an auction for $59.1 million to private-equity firm Patriarch Partners. Patriarch's offer must be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Paul, Minn. Polaroid sought court protection last year amid an alleged $3-billion Ponzi scheme by its owner.

Polaroid Corp., the twice-bankrupt pioneer of instant photography, failed to win court approval of a $56.3-million sale of most of its assets and a judge reopened the auction, according to two of the bidders and a creditor. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel issued the decision in St. Paul, Minn., where Polaroid sought approval to sell itself to a joint-venture of two liquidation firms, Hilco Consumer Capital of Toronto and Gordon Brothers Brands of Boston, Hilco said.

Polaroid Holding Co., owner of the camera brand that pioneered instant photography, said Friday that it agreed to be acquired by investment firm Petters Group Worldwide for about $426 million in cash. Under the deal, Polaroid shareholders would receive $12.08 a share, 13% more than Friday's closing price of $10.70 in over-the-counter trading. Petters, which owns a company that sells Polaroid DVD players and plasma televisions, would add cameras and other products to its lineup.