Apple and Google have teamed up to offer more than US$500 to buy Kodak’s patents out of bankruptcy, reports “Bloomberg,” quoting unnamed “people familiar with the situation.”

The two companies have partnered after leading two separate groups this summer to buy some of Kodak’s 1,100 imaging patents, the article adds. Showing the weird workings of the global business world, on another front, Apple and Google are doing battle in the smartphone market.

Last month Eastman Kodak was granted court permission to retain exclusive control of its bankruptcy case through Feb. 28 as it tries to execute an US$793 million financing offer from a group of bondholders. The company hopes to sell off its patent portfolio to a list of potential buyers that include Apple and Google.