12 ANDRITZ POYRY ¨


Pulp Paper & Logistics


How is M&A activity shaping the tissue industry in Europe?


S


ince 2000, tissue volume in Europe has grown from 5.7 million tons to almost


8.5 million tons. A clear trend connected to this growth has been consolidation of the largest players. The large producers have been growing through sizeable acquisitions, as well as by organic growth. The most active acquirers have been SCA, Sofidel and WEPA,


November/December 2017


Within the pulp and paper industry, the strongest growth is in the tissue market. Pirkko Petäjä and Mikko Helin analyse how mergers and acquisitions influence this growth


while all of the mentioned, and in addition ICTTronchetti, have also been active builders of new capacity. The capacity share of the three largest players has grown from approximately 40 to 50 per cent.


The business environment is better in a consolidated market.


The impact of consolidation is also reflected in the performance of individual companies; after the consolidation steps in Europe, SCA’s tissue business experienced evidently higher and more stable margins. While large companies have been becoming even larger, there has been a continuous


stream of new entrants to the tissue business, as barriers to entry are relatively low. The Eastern European industry especially is still fairly fragmented, and consolidation could significantly improve this business environment.


European tissue M&A over the last 15 years The leading European tissue companies have targeted major


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