(Wall Street Journal) Opening bids for  Kodak’s  digital patents came in far below the $2.6 billion the company said they could be worth.

That according to the Wall Street Journal which reports that Kodak received two bids from investor groups pitting Silicon Valley giants  Apple and Google  against each other ahead of an auction set for Wednesday. The Journal quotes sources as saying the bids from the two teams came in around $150 million to $250 million.

But the Journal also notes those initial bids could rise quickly if Apple and Google compete to keep the patents out of each other's hands amid a legal battle over the lucrative smartphone and tablet markets.

Details of Kodak's patent auction have been kept under wraps. A bankruptcy judge approved the company's request to keep bids and results secret until a winner is unveiled.

At a bankruptcy court hearing in January, a lawyer for Kodak said the company thought the patents were worth $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion.