Essity (ESSITYB SS) is reportedly preparing to start the sales process for its consumer tissue business, with the business valued between EUR 2.5-3bln, Bloomberg reports

Reports of a sale process being prepared, sourced to newswire reporting rather than a company statement, sit at the exploratory end of the deal spectrum; in past episodes of this kind a meaningful share never reach a signed transaction, so the pattern has been for the equity to trade on probability rather than on the full implied value. The valuation range quoted sets the anchor against which any eventual bids get judged, and range-framed estimates at this stage have historically proven wide, with outcomes hinging on whether private equity or strategic buyers dominate the process. Consumer tissue is a branded, capital-intensive, margin-thin business, and carve-outs of this type typically draw sponsor interest where the buyer sees operational upside, while strategics tend to be constrained by antitrust in overlapping geographies. For the seller, the precedent in portfolio-pruning stories of this kind is that the read-through runs through deleveraging and the use of proceeds rather than the headline multiple. What separates signal from noise next is confirmation of mandated banks, the appearance of named bidders, and whether the company validates the process on its next scheduled communication. Until then this remains a Bloomberg-sourced preparation story, not a launched auction.