Kodak is 12 days away from exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy and beginning its return to the "pantheon of American business".

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved Kodak's plan to re-emerge from Chapter 11 protection as a leaner company focused on profitable sectors.

Kodak entered Chapter 11 in January 2012 and is expected to exit on 3 September.

The court said: "It will be enormously valuable for the company to get out of Chapter 11 and begin to regain its position in the pantheon of American business."

Kodak said it would emerge from Chapter 11 as "a technology leader serving commercial imaging markets".

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"The plan also reflects the company’s effective utilisation of the Chapter 11 process to achieve its key reorganisation objectives, including successfully reducing legacy costs, liabilities and infrastructure, exiting or spinning off businesses and assets that were no longer core to its future, and focusing on the company’s most profitable business lines."

Chief executive Antonio Perez said the legal judgement was a "critically important milestone" and "the final step in the court process".

"Next, we move on to emergence as a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets – such as commercial printing, packaging, functional printing and professional services – with a leaner structure and a stronger balance sheet," said Perez.

"There are additional transactional steps ahead as we complete our Chapter 11 restructuring, but with the court’s decision today, our emergence is now imminent."

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