Brazil-based Suzano and US-based Kimberly-Clark have created a new US$3.4-billion joint venture focused on the manufacture, marketing and distribution of consumer and professional tissue products in over 70 countries. Suzano will acquire a 51% interest in the new entity, with Kimberly-Clark holding a 49% share.

Suzano will pay Kimberly-Clark US$1.734 billion in cash for its 51% stake at the closing of the transaction. The deal is expected to close in mid-2026 and involves approximately 9,000 employees.

The new business will be a company incorporated in the Netherlands and include 22 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries across Europe, Asia, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, Central America, Africa, and Oceania. Collectively, these facilities have an installed capacity to produce approximately 1 million tonnes of tissue/yr. The assets to be included in the new joint venture generated net sales in 2024 of approximately US$3.3 billion.

Kimberly-Clark will retain its consumer tissue and professional businesses in the United States and its interests in existing JVs in Mexico, South Korea and Bahrain, among other countries.

More than 40 regional brands of Kimberly-Clark´s International Family Care and Professional portfolio will be transferred into the joint venture, that will also enter into a long-term license with the new company for use of its global brands, including Kleenex, Scott, Cottonelle, WypAll, Viva, and Kimberly-Clark Professional.

The transaction is aligned with Suzano’s long-term strategy of value-accretive growth with financial discipline, focusing on scalable businesses where the company can leverage its strength in operational efficiency.

Suzano is currently a leading player in toilet paper in Brazil, following the 2023 acquisition of Kimberly-Clark’s Brazilian tissue assets and brands. Suzano is also in the process of building a new US$115 million tissue-paper mill at its site in Aracruz in the state of Espírito Santo, which will add 60,000 tonnes of annual capacity to the company’s Consumer Goods Business Unit.