According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, citing unidentified sources, the much-hyped auction of the patents of Eastman Kodak is drawing to a close, with suitors bidding low for the patents which, as per the bankrupt photography company, are valued at nearly $2.6 billion.

Unnamed sources have revealed to the WSJ that only lowball bids – even from bigwig suitors like Apple, Microsoft, and Google – have been received by Kodak for the 1,100 digital patents; with the offers not having gone past the $500 million mark.

It is likely that the Kodak patent’s auction will continue through the weekend, with the bids scheduled to be presented to the bankruptcy court - in accordance with the bidding procedures - by the company’s lawyers on Monday at 5 p. m. EDT.

The sale of patents was a move which bankrupt Kodak had decided to resort to, so as to repay creditors. It was in January that the photography company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of its failure to keep pace with the transition from film photography to digital photography by consumers as well as its competitors.

Meanwhile, refraining to make any comments about reports that suitors are bidding low for Kodak patents, the company’s spokeswoman Stefanie Goodsell told Reuters that the “complex and dynamic” Kodak patent auction is “very much ongoing;” and added: "We and all participants are still bound by the court order on confidentiality and cannot comment prior to an outcome."