Asia Pulp & Paper and CVC Capital Partners are separately weighing bids for Essity's consumer tissue division, with RGE also named as a potential bidder, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the process. The business, which includes the Cushelle, Tempo and Tork brands, could be valued at around EUR 3bn (USD 3.4bn), and a sale process is expected to start this month. Essity says its strategic review remains open and it may decide not to divest.
Why this mattersA sale would transfer the Cushelle, Tempo and Tork brands from Essity to an Asian pulp and paper group or a financial sponsor, changing ownership of a major European tissue portfolio.
- Asia Pulp & Paper and CVC Capital Partners are separately considering bids for Essity's consumer tissue division, according to Bloomberg sources
- RGE is also named as a potential bidder
- The tissue business, including the Cushelle, Tempo and Tork brands, could be valued at around EUR 3bn (USD 3.4bn)
- The sale process is expected to start this month
- Essity says its strategic review remains open, including the possibility of not divesting
- Essity launched the strategic review of Consumer Tissue in May 2026, flagging possible separation
- Consumer Tissue generated SEK 43,537m net sales in 2025, 31% of group sales
- The division's 2025 EBITA excluding items affecting comparability was SEK 5,187m, an 11.9% margin
- Consumer Tissue employs about 13,000 people across 29 production facilities, with brands including Lotus, Tempo, Zewa, Cushelle, Plenty, Regio and Familia
Essity's Tork PaperCircle hand towel take-back and recycling scheme collected more than 500 million used paper towels in 2025, with customer collection sites up 33% during the year. The service now operates in 15 European markets, returning towels to Essity plants where they are turned into new tissue products such as toilet paper.
Why this mattersA take-back loop recycling more than 35 million towels a month gives Essity a steady source of recovered fibre for its own tissue production.
- Tork PaperCircle collected more than 500 million used hand towels in 2025.
- Customer collection sites increased by 33% during 2025.
- The service is active in 15 European markets.
- More than 35 million hand towels are recycled per month.
- A related Tork DispenserCircle pilot has repurposed 240,000 dispensers.
Essity has invested USD 46.2m (GBP 35m) in a waste paper recycling plant in Prudhoe, Northumberland, with capacity to process 105,000 tonnes of paper a year. The plant uses new technology to handle lower-grade paper and supplies recycled fibre for tissue brands including Cushelle and Velvet.
Why this mattersCaptive recycled-fibre capacity of 105,000 tonnes shortens Essity's UK supply chain and brings paper grades that conventional systems reject into tissue production.
- Investment of USD 46.2m (GBP 35m) in a recycling plant in Prudhoe, Northumberland.
- Plant capacity to process 105,000 tonnes of waste paper annually.
- Facility accepts lower-grade paper grades alongside standard recyclables.
- Recycled fibre output feeds tissue brands Cushelle and Velvet.
- New technology reduces energy use and contaminants such as plastics compared with prior systems.
Essity has completed a EUR 10m (USD 11.4m) investment programme over 2025 and 2026 at its Kunheim tissue mill in Haut-Rhin, France. The site employs 260 people and produces more than 60,000 tonnes a year of tissue paper, toilet rolls and handkerchiefs. The money went into modernised converting lines and into lower energy consumption and a smaller carbon footprint at the plant.
Why this mattersA EUR 10m upgrade keeps a 60,000-tonne Alsace converting site inside Essity's western European supply base and lowers its energy use and emissions.
- Investment of EUR 10m (USD 11.4m) made over the 2025-2026 period
- Kunheim mill in Haut-Rhin, France employs 260 people
- Site produces more than 60,000 tonnes a year of tissue paper, toilet rolls and handkerchiefs
- Converting lines modernised to raise productivity and support eco-designed ranges
- Energy consumption and carbon footprint of the plant reduced
- Distribution infrastructure includes 22,000 sqm of warehousing able to hold 55,000 pallets
Essity is reportedly preparing to launch a bidding process for its Consumer Tissue division, with a separate listing of the unit as an alternative under review. Management is said to be working on deal preparations ahead of a formal process, according to reports cited by the source; no timetable or valuation has been reported. The review follows volume and pricing pressure in lower and mid-tier tissue products.
Why this mattersA sale or listing would take tissue volumes out of Essity's portfolio and put a large European consumer tissue business in play for trade and financial buyers.
- Essity is reportedly preparing a bidding process for its Consumer Tissue division
- Separating Consumer Tissue into a newly listed company is one option under review
- Management is said to be working on deal preparations ahead of a formal process
- The report cites volume and pricing pressure in lower and mid-tier tissue products
- No timetable or valuation for a sale or listing has been reported
Essity said chief financial officer Fredrik Rystedt intends to retire during 2027 after more than nine years in the role. The hygiene and paper group will begin a search for his successor immediately, and Rystedt will remain in post until a successor is appointed and handover is complete.
Why this mattersLosing a CFO of more than nine years' standing, with an open-ended handover, puts Essity's finance leadership in transition through 2027.
- Fredrik Rystedt has served as CFO and Executive Vice President of Essity for more than nine years.
- He has told the company of his intention to retire during 2027.
- The search for a successor begins immediately.
- Rystedt stays in post until a successor is appointed and handover is completed.
- Essity disclosed the move under EU Market Abuse Regulation rules at 07:55 CET on 21 September 2026.
Essity repurchased 397,967 Class B shares for USD 10.65m (SEK 105.2m) between 14 and 18 September 2026, under a USD 304m (SEK 3bn) buyback programme running from 12 May 2026 to the 2027 annual general meeting at the latest. Cumulative repurchases under the programme have reached 5,562,472 shares for USD 151.8m (SEK 1,499.5m).
Why this mattersEssity has used USD 151.8m of a USD 304m (SEK 3bn) authorisation since May, directing cash to shareholders rather than to capacity or acquisitions.
- Essity repurchased 397,967 Class B shares between 14 and 18 September 2026 for USD 10.65m (SEK 105,152,187).
- The programme totals USD 304m (SEK 3bn), announced on 22 April 2026 and running from 12 May 2026 to the 2027 AGM at the latest.
- Cumulative repurchases under the programme reached 5,562,472 shares for USD 151.8m (SEK 1,499,513,546).
- Purchases were executed on Nasdaq Stockholm by BofA Securities Europe SA on Essity's behalf.
- Essity held 6,802,595 treasury Class B shares as of 18 September 2026.
- Total shares outstanding are 681,945,171, comprising 54,763,041 Class A and 627,182,130 Class B shares.
Essity is advancing a sale-or-spin-off process for its Consumer Tissue division, home to the Lotus, Tempo and Cushelle brands, with Morgan Stanley advising on options including an external sale or a separate Stockholm listing. External valuations diverge, with one report putting the unit at EUR 2.5bn-3bn and a separate Bloomberg report citing sources who value the business at around SEK 34bn, with a sale process potentially launching as early as October 2026. Activist investor Cevian Capital has built a stake and is pressing Essity to focus on its core hygiene and health businesses; the strategic review, launched in May 2026, is expected to conclude in the first half of 2027.
Why this mattersA multibillion-value tissue carve-out would reshape Essity into a pure hygiene and health group and could create a new standalone European tissue player.
- Morgan Stanley is advising Essity on a dual-track separation of Consumer Tissue, either a sale to an external buyer or a spin-off listed in Stockholm, according to Bloomberg
- Bloomberg sources say the process could start as early as October 2026 and value the toilet paper business at about SEK 34bn
- One report values the division, home to Lotus, Tempo and Cushelle, at EUR 2.5bn-3bn, below the company's own valuation projections
- The strategic review was announced in May 2026 and is expected to conclude in the first half of 2027
- Activist investor Cevian Capital has increased its stake and is pressing for a focus on core high-margin hygiene and health businesses
- Essity confirmed its nomination committee composition on 23 September 2026, with Cevian Capital's Niko Pakalen replacing the Swedbank Robur representative
Smurfit Westrock is closing its SSK cardboard reprocessing mill in Birmingham, with annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes, following a consultation process. The closure coincides with a net 1.25m tonnes of new UK cardboard reprocessing capacity due by 2027, led by Palm's conversion of its King's Lynn newsprint mill and Eren's new Shotton Mill.
Why this mattersThe UK's cardboard recycling base is being reshaped, with new large-scale corrugated capacity offsetting the loss of older reprocessing sites such as this one.
- Smurfit Westrock is closing its SSK Mill in Birmingham, with 200,000 tonnes annual cardboard capacity, after a consultation.
- Palm is converting its King's Lynn mill in Norfolk from newsprint to corrugated case material, adding 700,000 tonnes annual capacity.
- Eren's new Shotton Mill will add 750,000 tonnes annual capacity plus 67,000 tonnes of tissue paper.
- Essity's Prudhoe mill is due to be fully operational by 2027 and expected to take some cardboard as feedstock.
- The UK reprocessed about 1.3m tonnes of cardboard in 2025 out of roughly 4m tonnes collected, with 2.7m tonnes exported.
- Net UK cardboard reprocessing capacity is expected to rise by 1.25m tonnes by 2027 after accounting for the Birmingham closure.
