11/05/2026 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 11 May, the European Commission unconditionally authorised the acquisition of Kimberly-Clark IFP (incorporated in the Netherlands) by the Brazilian group Suzano, ruling that the transaction did not pose any competition problems in the European Economic Area (https://aeur.eu/f/lv0 ). The Commission found that the vertical link between the world’s leading wood pulp producer (BEKP), Suzano, and Kimberly-Clark IFP’s tissue products business did not risk restricting competitors’ access to this raw material. The pulp market is “large, diverse and well supplied”, with multiple global and European suppliers. Industrial customers have several sources of supply at their disposal and can change supplier without significant obstacles. Kimberly-Clark IFP’s relatively limited position on the European market does not allow the combined entity to implement a strategy of restricting access to wood pulp, according to the Commission. (LC)