SCA will integrate its Business Unit MEIA (Middle East, India and Africa) into Business Unit Consumer Goods to leverage our scale and capabilities and to further increase efficiency. Combining these organizations will help to capture synergies and facilitate best practice sharing within the consumer business.

"This integration provides us with the scale to stay competitive in a region to which we are committed and creates a strong foundation for future profitable growth" commented Magnus Groth, CEO and President of SCA.

Volker Zöller, President, SCA Consumer Goods explained: "We aspire to implement the relevant parts of our successful European Go-To-Market program in MEIA and to leverage innovation on a broader scale".

The integration will be effective as of November 1, 2016.

Business Unit MEIA offers Personal Care products and Tissue in the regions Middle East, India and Africa. The business unit accounted for 2% of the Group's net sales for the first quarter of 2016. Business unit Consumer Goods, which offers consumer goods in Europe, accounted for 30% during the same period.