ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 31 -- Eastman Kodak Co. announced today its intention to acquire Creo Inc., a Vancouver, British Columbia, supplier of prepress systems. The company's workflow software is used by commercial printers to manage the movement of text, graphics and images from a computer screen to a printing press. Kodak said it will pay approximately $980 million in cash, or $16.50 per share, for all the outstanding shares of Creo, on a fully diluted basis. Creo has more than 25,000 customers and offices in 30 countries worldwide. The proposed transaction follows an announcement on Jan. 12 that Kodak has entered into an agreement to become the sole owner of Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG), its joint venture with Sun Chemical Corp. KPG is a global supplier of digital and conventional lithographic plates, digital color proofing products and graphic arts films. (See Kodak Buying Out Graphics Unit) Creo will provide Kodak with an innovative digital pre-press product portfolio and established relationships in the commercial printing segment, the largest market opportunity within the graphic communications industry, Kodak said. The acquisition will reinforce Kodak's Graphic Communications Group's (GCG) ability to offer products and services for a production environment in which digital, traditional and hybrid print jobs are increasingly converging, said James Langley, president of the Graphic Communications Group and a senior vice president at Eastman Kodak. "Creo's product line complements the work already underway at Kodak," Langley said. "Commercial printers use Creo's products in tandem with those sold by KPG; combining Kodak's, KPG's and Creo's portfolios will give customers what they want -- a single supplier for their graphic communications needs." Creo's operations will become part of the Graphics Solutions & Services operating unit of the GCG once the acquisition is completed and the organizational structure of Kodak's Graphic Communications Group has been completed. Kodak said that Creo presently has approximately $85 million of cash on its balance sheet and no debt. The transaction, which has been approved by Kodak's and Creo's respective boards of directors, will be carried out by statutory plan of arrangement under Canadian law and is subject to regulatory, shareholder and court approval. For more information, visit: www.kodak.com/go/invest