Livingstone Advises Kimberly-Clark on Cross-Border Sale
January 2012
Livingstone, the leading independent, international investment banking firm, recently advised Kimberly-Clark on the sale of two tissue manufacturing plants located in the Spanish-Basque municipalities of Aranguren (Vizcaya) and Arceniega (Álava), to a consortium made up of Basque firms Indarkia, S.L. and Zurbost Gestión, and the private equity fund Ezten FCR of the Basque Government. The Agreement includes a manufacturing agreement for continuing supply to Kimberly-Clark of the goods currently produced there. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people -nearly a quarter of the world’s population- trust Kimberly-Clark brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex®, Andrex®, Scott®, Huggies®, Pull-Ups®, Kotex® and Depend®, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries.
Indarkia is a company created by Basque entrepreneurs with the aim of carrying out long-term investments in companies in the industrial and energy sectors. Ezten FCR is a private equity fund under the responsibility of Department of Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism of the Basque Country. Ezten is currently investing €80M in 57 different companies.
Steven Lewis, Partner of Livingstone Spain commented: “The sale of these assets by Kimberly-Clark to a group of Basque investors with the strong support of the private equity arm of the local government will provide continuing employment for the workforce as well as help to maintain the region’s strong commitment to the paper industry. Livingstone worked closely with Kimberly-Clark management to arrive at a deal that made sense for both sides.”
Livingstone has built a peerless reputation in the mid-market for helping corporate buyers and sellers complete cross-border deals around the world. Livingstone has recently closed transactions with household-name and leading companies such as Lifetime Brands, LaFarge, Ecolab, Middleby Corp., Mattel, Hertz, and Anheuser-Busch InBev.
For further information please contact:
Andrew Isgrig
T: 312.670.5910
E: isgrig@livingstonepartners.com
