Kimberly-Clark's $4 billion international tissue unit set for three-way M&A fight, sources say

By Kane Wu, Yantoultra Ngui and Luciana Magalhaes

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Southeast Asia's Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) and Asia Pulp & Paper Co (APP), as well as Brazil's Suzano SA are the final bidders for Kimberly-Clark's international tissue business valued at around $4 billion, four people said.

The three short-listed companies are doing due diligence on the business and are expected to submit binding bids by mid-May, said the people who had knowledge of the matter but did not wish to be identified as the information was not public.

Kleenex tissues maker Kimberly-Clark has hired Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners to run the sale of the business, said two of the people.

The unit, which was put on the block by Kimberly-Clark as part of a restructuring initiated last year, generates around $500 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), they said.

Irving, Texas-headquartered Kimberly-Clark did not respond to a request for comment.

Singapore-headquartered resources and energy group Royal Golden Eagle, and Brazilian pulp maker Suzano declined to comment. Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper did not respond to a request for comment.

Goldman Sachs and Centerview declined to comment.

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 on Tuesday due to increased costs as a result of the tariffs.

Its international tissue business, however, will not be similarly impacted, said two of the sources. The business, on the other hand, benefited from the recent depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major currencies around the world, one of the sources added.

RGE is vying for the business as it is planning a major global expansion with potentially billions to spend on acquisitions, said two of the sources.

The group, owned by Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto, won a bid over APP in 2023 to acquire a 52% stake in Hong Kong-listed tissue and diaper maker Vinda for $3.4 billion. RGE acquired 100% of Vinda in 2024 and took it private.

Suzano, which also participated in Vinda's sale process, told investors last year it would acquire assets to generate growth, according to analysts' reports.

The Brazilian company also engaged in talks in 2024 to buy International Paper but failed to reach an agreement with the U.S.-based firm, in a deal estimated at about $15 billion.

In 2022 Suzano announced a deal to buy Kimberly-Clark's tissue paper operations in Brazil for an undisclosed sum.

Kimberly-Clark said in March last year that it will reorganise its businesses to simplify operations and cut costs.

(Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong, Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)