Kimberly-Clark Corp. is forming a t venture with Suzano SA that will see it sell a majority stake in its global Kleenex and tissue businesses outside of North America to the Brazilian pulp supplier.
Under the of the deal the unit is valued at $3.4 billion, according to a statement. Kimberly-Clark will hold a 49% interest in the new venture. Suzano, the world largest pulp supplier and a major paper producer, will have a 51% majority stake and holds the option to buy Kimberly-Clark’s ownership interest at specified times and conditions.
Kimberly-Clark will contribute nearly all assets of its International Family Care and Professional business, which includes more than 40 regional brands and about 9,000 employees. Its five global brands — including Scott and Kleenex — will be licensed to the venture. The company expects the transaction will dilute earnings by 30 cents to 40 cents per share this year.
Its shares were virtually unchanged in premarket trading, while Sao Paulo-based Suzano’s American depository receipts rose as much as 4.5%.
The transaction — expected to close in the middle of 2026 — is seen as part of the Irving-based consumer goods giant’s ongoing transformation strategy to boost growth, Chief Executive Officer Mike Hsu said in the statement. Last year, sales shrank for the first time since 2019, with analysts currently projecting sales will contract 2.8% this year.
The international tissue business is the smallest of its three core divisions with has annual net sales under $3.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The division has posted the lowest profit margins of the trio, the newspaper said.
The sale attracted interest from other companies including Royal Golden Eagle Pte and Asia Pulp & Paper Co., Bloomberg News has reported.
-Redd Brown and Karen Leigh for Reuters