Bankrupt imaging outfit Kodak has received a bid of more than $500m for 1,100 of its patents, The Inquirer reports.

Kodak, which is languishing in bankruptcy court after years of falling behind its rivals, has been trying to sell 1,100 patents that relate to digital imaging for over 18 months. Now the firm has received a bid of more than $500m from a consortium for its patents.

Kodak had claimed its patents would be worth billions but until now had only received bids around the $250m mark. The firm needs to sell part of its patent portfolio in order to secure loans offered on the premise that its patents can be sold for $500m or more.

While Kodak is trying to sell its patents to generate cash, the firm has been slashing costs by cutting staff and concentrating on high margin businesses. The firm claims it will rake in $2.7bn in 2013 with what is left of the business.