[Aristophanes]

Speaking very broadly, I's suppose it depends what is meant by "Bond" in the particular country or jurisdiction. Here in the UK there are lots of "Bonds"...it's really just another name for a loan. But, like any loan or mortgage, it may (or may not) be secured, perhaps on specific assets of a business.

I've not studied EK's account, but I suppose that Bonds could be secured on the specific collateral of patents or some other asset? IDK?

e.g. I have a mortgage loan on my house....I own the house, and the bank demands a rate of interest to reflect the risk of me not paying back their investment. However, if I went bankrupt, they would have a "first charge" on the house...so they would have their loan fully repaid from the sale of the house, before any other creditors had anything paid off their debts. Similar, if or when I move house, I have to arrange to either repay the bank, or arrange for the loan to be secured against the collateral of my next house.

Bonds are almost always secured against assets. After the taxman and sureties they are first in line for recovery of assets in bankruptcy. The issue here is the risk of those sold assets (the patents) falling into management hands.

The bondholders are calling Kodak's loans. Or at least threatening to do so. This is the way bondholders vote against their confidence in management. The bondholders are clearly worried that a Kodak based on its digital/analog portfolio sans patents will not be equal to the collateral obligation at time the loan was issued. Nor do they have faith that Kodak to pay the coupons on the bonds faithfully. Management appears to want to sell the patents to substitute for revenues from day-to-day activities. The story is from the Chief Operating Officer, no less, the person responsible for day-to-day. Shareholders also see this, so they are selling the stock.

Kodak management has responded (and it is their fiduciary obligation to do so) by hiring legal counsel. The market and third parties haven't much faith in management utilizing either current revenues or funds from the sale of intellectual property.

As noted in another post, this may only be decided by a judge if the creditors and Kodak management cannot hammer out an agreement.