Kimberly-Clark nears US$3.5bil sale of global tissue business to Suzano
KUALA LUMPUR: Kimberly-Clark is nearing a sale of its Kleenex and tissue businesses outside of North America for around US$3.5 billion to Brazilian pulpmaker Suzano, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
A deal could be completed as soon as Thursday, the report said on Wednesday.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Kimberly-Clark and Suzano did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Reuters had reported in April citing people with knowledge of the matter that along with Suzano, Southeast Asia's Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) and Asia Pulp & Paper Co (APP) were the final bidders for Kimberly-Clark's international tissue business, valued at around US$4 billion.
The unit, which was put on the block by Kimberly-Clark as part of a restructuring initiated last year, generates around US$500 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
The sale is proceeding as U.S. President Donald Trump's broad trade tariffs weigh on Kimberly-Clark's business outlook. The consumer goods company slashed its annual profit forecast due to increased costs in April as a result of the tariffs.
In 2022, Suzano announced a deal to buy the Irving, Texas-headquartered company's tissue paper operations in Brazil for an undisclosed sum.
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