The Swedish firm that owns a number of consumer goods brands, including absorbent underwear and menstrual cups, said it will acquire an 80 per cent stake in the Toronto-based leakproof apparel maker on a cash- and debt-free basis. (The Logic)

Talking point: Essity expects the transaction to close in the second half of the year. CEO Joanna Griffiths founded Knix in 2013 as a direct-to-consumer brand, which now also has six brick-and-mortar stores. Last year, it reported $133.6 million in net sales, up 97 per cent. Knix declined to comment beyond the press release, which said Griffiths will retain a 20 per cent share and stay with the company as president. Griffiths said in an Instagram post that she has “spent the better part of two years” getting to know Essity in a journey that started in business school when she wrote in her first business plan that Essity “would be a great strategic fit for Knix.”