Suzano Closes $1.3 Billion Deal to Launch Tissue Giant Arbex
Markets
Key Facts
—The launch. Suzano and Kimberly-Clark closed their tissue deal on July 1 and began operating a new firm called Arbex.
—The payment. Suzano settled the deal for about US$1.3bn (R$6.7bn), adjusted from the US$1.734bn first agreed.
—The stakes. Suzano holds 51% and Kimberly-Clark 49% of the new company, valued in June 2025 at US$3.4bn.
—The scale. Arbex runs 22 plants in 14 countries, employs about 9,000 people and expects roughly US$3.3bn in annual sales.
—The brands. It carries more than 40 regional brands and licenses global names such as Kleenex and Scott.
—The base. Arbex is headquartered in the Netherlands, and former Suzano chief Walter Schalka chairs its board.
The Suzano tissue venture is no longer a plan on paper: the Brazilian pulp giant has closed its deal with Kimberly-Clark and, from Wednesday, runs a global hygiene business overnight.
Suzano, the world’s largest pulp producer, said the transaction it first announced in June 2025 was completed on July 1. The combined business now operates as an independent company called Arbex, based in the Netherlands.
The move turns a bulk-commodity champion into a consumer brand owner. It is the clearest step yet in Suzano’s push beyond selling raw pulp toward higher-value products with a household name.
Suzano is a giant in its home field, controlling close to a third of the global market for eucalyptus pulp from mills across several Brazilian states. Listed in both São Paulo and New York, it supplies more than a hundred countries and employs tens of thousands of people.
What the Suzano tissue venture actually is
Arbex is a joint venture in which Suzano holds a controlling fifty-one percent and Kimberly-Clark the remaining forty-nine. The whole business was valued at three point four billion dollars when the deal was struck.
The Rio Times reviewed Suzano’s filing to the United States securities regulator, which confirms the closing. It settled the deal for about one point three billion dollars, or roughly six point seven billion reais.
That is lower than the one point seven three four billion dollars first agreed. The gap reflects the new venture’s opening balance sheet, which carries about a billion dollars of net debt raised to fund the deal.
The scale is immediate and global. Arbex runs twenty-two plants across fourteen countries, employs around nine thousand people, and expects yearly sales of roughly three point three billion dollars in more than seventy markets.
Why the Suzano tissue venture matters for investors
The logic is a hedge. Suzano’s core business rises and falls with the volatile price of pulp, and a branded consumer arm gives it steadier, downstream earnings to lean on.
That cushion matters right now. A strong Brazilian real and soft pulp prices cut the company’s first-quarter profit by about a third this year, underlining why steadier income streams appeal.
The brand roster is the prize. Arbex carries more than forty regional names and holds a long-term licence for global brands including Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle.
It builds on an earlier move. Suzano bought Kimberly-Clark’s Brazilian tissue assets back in 2023, so the new venture extends a strategy that has been taking shape for years.
For Kimberly-Clark, the deal sharpens focus. Selling a majority of its international tissue arm lets the American group concentrate on higher-margin personal care and its North American home market.
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Who runs the Suzano tissue venture
The leadership blends both parents. Ehab Abou-Oaf, who led Kimberly-Clark’s international tissue unit, becomes chief executive and will be based in London with most of the senior team.
A familiar Brazilian name sits at the top. Walter Schalka, who ran Suzano for more than a decade before stepping down in 2024, chairs the new board, while a former Suzano executive takes the chief operating role.
The finance seat went to a consumer-goods veteran drawn from outside both parents. That mix of pulp-industry operators and seasoned brand managers is meant to knit together the two sides the venture depends on.
The market read was quick. Suzano’s shares rose after the venture completed, a sign that investors welcome the diversification even as pulp prices stay under pressure.
For the foreign investor, the takeaway is a Brazilian heavyweight going global in consumer goods. Whether the bet pays off will hinge on how smoothly two very different corporate cultures merge into one.
What is the Suzano tissue venture?
It is Arbex, a joint venture that combines Suzano‘s tissue operations with Kimberly-Clark’s international family-care and professional business. Suzano owns fifty-one percent and Kimberly-Clark forty-nine, and the company began operating on July 1.
How much did Suzano pay?
Suzano settled the deal for about one point three billion dollars, roughly six point seven billion reais, adjusted down from the one point seven three four billion first agreed because of the venture’s opening net debt.
Why does the Suzano tissue venture matter?
It turns the world’s largest pulp producer into a global consumer-brand owner overnight, giving it a steadier downstream business to offset the swings of the pulp market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Arbex and who owns it?
Arbex is a new company formed from Suzano's and Kimberly-Clark's tissue businesses, with Suzano holding 51% and Kimberly-Clark 49%. It started operating on July 1 and is headquartered in the Netherlands.
How much did Suzano actually pay to close this deal?
Suzano paid about US$1.3 billion (roughly R$6.7 billion), which is less than the US$1.734 billion originally agreed because the new company started with about a billion dollars of net debt on its books.
How big is Arbex as a business?
Arbex runs 22 plants across 14 countries, employs around 9,000 people, and expects annual sales of roughly US$3.3 billion. It carries more than 40 regional brands and licenses well-known global names like Kleenex and Scott.
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