Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Acquisitions
4
Major Deals Covered
$58.1B
Disclosed Deal Value
Kimberly-Clark's largest disclosed acquisition here is Kenvue (pending) for $48.7B in 2026. This page covers 4 major deals from 1995 to 2026, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Paper Company | 1995 | $9.4B | Added Scott and Cottonelle and greatly expanded Kimberly-Clark's global tissue business. |
| Ballard Medical Products | 1999 | Undisclosed | Expanded the health care business with medical devices. |
| Softex Indonesia | 2020 | Undisclosed | Added a leading Indonesian diaper and feminine care business to International Personal Care. |
| Kenvue (pending) | 2026 | $48.7B | Cash-and-stock deal announced November 2025 to add Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine, Neutrogena and Aveeno. |
2026
$48.7B
Cash-and-stock deal announced November 2025 to add Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine, Neutrogena and Aveeno.
Approved by both companies' shareholders in January 2026; conditional approvals in Australia and South Africa; EU review ongoing.
Expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to remaining regulatory approvals.
2020
Added a leading Indonesian diaper and feminine care business to International Personal Care.
Expanded Kimberly-Clark's presence in Southeast Asia.
Softex is a core brand in the International Personal Care segment.
1999
Expanded the health care business with medical devices.
Became part of the health care unit later spun off as Halyard Health in 2014.
No longer part of Kimberly-Clark after the Halyard spin-off.
1995
$9.4B
Added Scott and Cottonelle and greatly expanded Kimberly-Clark's global tissue business.
Made Kimberly-Clark one of the largest tissue makers in the world and required years of plant and brand integration.
Scott and Cottonelle remain core North American brands; much of the international tissue business later moved into the Arbex joint venture.
Under its Powering Care strategy, Kimberly-Clark focuses on premium innovation (such as Huggies Skin Essentials and Depend upgrades), productivity savings, exiting low-margin businesses like US private-label diapers, and moving its international tissue business into the Arbex joint venture. It is also building an alternative natural fibers pilot plant in the US Southwest using the drought-tolerant hesperaloe plant. The Kenvue acquisition is the largest bet, adding consumer health brands to its hygiene portfolio.
Kimberly-Clark makes money by manufacturing and selling branded disposable hygiene and tissue products through retailers, e-commerce and distributors. Since 2024 it reports two segments: North America (consumer brands such as Huggies, Kleenex, Cottonelle, Scott, Depend and Poise, plus the North American professional business) and International Personal Care (diapers, feminine care and adult care outside North America). The International Family Care and Professional tissue business is reported as discontinued operations after being contributed to the Arbex joint venture with Suzano. Profit depends on pricing power, mix toward premium products, and productivity savings that offset pulp, resin and energy costs.
In December 1995, Kimberly-Clark acquired Scott Paper Company for $9.4 billion in stock. The mega-merger united Kleenex with Scott tissue and Cottonelle, creating the global leader of the consumer and commercial tissue industry.
In 2022, Kimberly-Clark acquired a majority controlling stake in Thinx Inc., the pioneer of reusable period underwear and incontinence apparel, expanding Kimberly-Clark's sustainable feminine hygiene and eco-friendly personal care portfolio.
In September 2020, Kimberly-Clark acquired Softex Indonesia in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.2 billion. The acquisition gave Kimberly-Clark market leadership in baby diapers, sanitary napkins, and adult care in the fast-growing Indonesian market.
In 1999, Kimberly-Clark acquired Ballard Medical Products for $774 million, strengthening its healthcare and medical device division with disposable respiratory care, enteral feeding, and surgical access products.
In October 2014, Kimberly-Clark completed the tax-free spin-off of its healthcare and surgical medical device business into an independent publicly traded corporation named Halyard Health, Inc. (now known as Avanos Medical, Inc., NYSE: AVNS).
Kimberly-Clark expanded its footprint across Latin America through strategic buyouts, including acquiring full control of Kimberly-Clark de México joint venture operations, Klabin's tissue assets in Brazil, and regional diaper manufacturers in Colombia and Peru.
To focus purely on high-margin personal hygiene, Kimberly-Clark systematically divested its legacy timberland tracts, Canadian pulp mills, aviation services, and non-core commercial paper distribution businesses.
Kimberly-Clark targets bolt-on acquisitions in high-growth personal care categories (adult incontinence, sustainable feminine care, infant wellness) that offer geographic expansion in developing markets and leverage Kimberly-Clark's global retail distribution power.
The absolute most important acquisition in their history was the 1995 buyout of Scott Paper Company for $9.4 billion. Scott was a massive rival (famous for Scotties tissues and Cottonelle). By acquiring them, Kimberly-Clark instantly became the absolute largest tissue manufacturer in the world, brutally consolidating the global toilet paper and paper towel markets.
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