5 June 2025: The new joint venture will include Kleenex, along with the Scott, Viva, WypAll and Kimberly-Clark Professional brands.
Kimberly-Clark (KC) and Suzano have agreed to establish a new joint venture that will combine KC’s International Family Care and Professional (IFP) business with Suzano’s industrial and fibre expertise, forming a major global player in tissue and professional hygiene products.
Under the agreement, Brazil's Suzano will acquire a 51 per cent stake in the new venture for $1.734bn, while KC will retain 49 per cent. The company is expected to generate around $3.3bn in annual net sales, operating in over 70 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The joint entity will manage 22 manufacturing sites and employ approximately 9,000 people.
The transaction is part of KC's transformation strategy, aimed at prioritising higher-margin, higher-growth segments – notably personal care and North American tissue operations. The divested IFP business includes over 40 regional brands and will license five major global brands – Kleenex, Scott, Viva, WypAll and Kimberly-Clark Professional – under long-term agreements.
According to Kimberly-Clark, the deal allows the company to reduce cost volatility, enhance margin predictability and return capital to shareholders. The company expects the transaction to be modestly dilutive to adjusted EPS in the first full year after completion, with closing anticipated in mid-2026, pending regulatory approvals.
The new venture will be headquartered in the Netherlands, with a governing board comprising three Suzano and two Kimberly-Clark representatives. Suzano will hold an option to acquire the remaining 49 per cent stake in the future.
For Suzano, the move marks a major step in its global expansion strategy, building on the company’s 2023 acquisition of Kimberly-Clark’s Brazilian tissue business. The new joint venture is expected to leverage both companies’ complementary strengths in fibre production, brand management and commercial operations.
By Frauke Schmidt, Euwid