KONE to Acquire TK Elevator, Becoming Global Leader in Elevators and Creating Finland's Largest Acquisition in History
Finnish elevator manufacturer KONE announced its acquisition of German competitor TK Elevator for 29.4 billion euros, marking Finland's largest acquisition in history. This merger is expected to make KONE the global leader in the elevator industry.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 16:11
- 🔍 Collected: April 30, 2026 at 16:31 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 1, 2026 at 07:23 (14h 51m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wu Chi-lin, Helsinki 30th) Finnish elevator manufacturer KONE announced its acquisition of German competitor TK Elevator for 29.4 billion euros (approximately 1.0798 trillion New Taiwan Dollars), marking the largest corporate merger and acquisition in Finland's history; the combined entity is set to become the global leader in the elevator industry.
Helsingin Sanomat reported that KONE will pay for the acquisition with a combination of cash and stock, including 5 billion euros in cash (approximately 183.7 billion New Taiwan Dollars), newly issued shares worth approximately 15.2 billion euros (approximately 558.4 billion New Taiwan Dollars), and will assume TK Elevator's interest-bearing debt of approximately 9.2 billion euros (approximately 338 billion New Taiwan Dollars), with plans for refinancing.
Antti Herlin, Chairman and largest shareholder of KONE, stated that the board is confident that this merger will drive broader innovation and better customer service, laying the foundation for long-term growth for both companies. After the transaction is completed, he will purchase an additional approximately 1 billion euros worth of newly issued KONE shares to ensure he maintains more than half of the shareholding.
Philippe Delorme, CEO of KONE, pointed out that the combined new group is expected to have annual revenues exceeding 20.5 billion euros, with maintenance and modernization services accounting for approximately 65%, and adjusted annual operating profit exceeding 2.7 billion euros. Delorme estimated that KONE could save approximately 700 million euros annually.
TK Elevator was originally the elevator business of the German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, sold in 2020 for 18.7 billion US dollars (approximately 592 billion New Taiwan Dollars) to private equity firms Advent International and Cinven. Thyssenkrupp still holds approximately 16.2% of TK Elevator shares, which will be converted into KONE shares after the transaction is completed.
Reuters noted that KONE currently ranks fourth in the North American market, and after the acquisition, it is expected to rise to first place; TK Elevator's sales in North America account for about one-third of its total, indicating high geographical market complementarity between the two. KONE will also enter the South American and South Korean markets for the first time through this acquisition.
Panu Laitinmäki, Head of Equity Research at Danske Bank, described it as a "quite impressive deal" in an interview with Reuters, considering the synergy figures calculated from the acquirer's revenue ratio. He analyzed that the elevator market has entered a mature stage, where larger scale often means higher profitability, making this deal "definitely a good move" strategically.
However, whether the merger can be successfully completed remains uncertain. Reuters reported that KONE expects the transaction to take 12 to 18 months to complete, and the European Commission has not yet received notification of the filing; analysts anticipate strict antitrust review due to KONE and TK Elevator's high market shares in some European markets. Swiss elevator company Schindler has publicly stated its objection to this. The combined KONE and TK Elevator will have over 100,000 employees globally and annual sales exceeding 20 billion euros, but whether this century-long merger can succeed will depend on passing antitrust reviews in various countries. (Editor: Wei Shu) 1150430
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to get the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio-visual content of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
(Central News Agency reporter Wu Chi-lin, Helsinki 30th) Finnish elevator manufacturer KONE announced its acquisition of German competitor TK Elevator for 29.4 billion euros (approximately 1.0798 trillion New Taiwan Dollars), marking the largest corporate merger and acquisition in Finland's history; the combined entity is set to become the global leader in the elevator industry.
Helsingin Sanomat reported that KONE will pay for the acquisition with a combination of cash and stock, including 5 billion euros in cash (approximately 183.7 billion New Taiwan Dollars), newly issued shares worth approximately 15.2 billion euros (approximately 558.4 billion New Taiwan Dollars), and will assume TK Elevator's interest-bearing debt of approximately 9.2 billion euros (approximately 338 billion New Taiwan Dollars), with plans for refinancing.
Antti Herlin, Chairman and largest shareholder of KONE, stated that the board is confident that this merger will drive broader innovation and better customer service, laying the foundation for long-term growth for both companies. After the transaction is completed, he will purchase an additional approximately 1 billion euros worth of newly issued KONE shares to ensure he maintains more than half of the shareholding.
Philippe Delorme, CEO of KONE, pointed out that the combined new group is expected to have annual revenues exceeding 20.5 billion euros, with maintenance and modernization services accounting for approximately 65%, and adjusted annual operating profit exceeding 2.7 billion euros. Delorme estimated that KONE could save approximately 700 million euros annually.
TK Elevator was originally the elevator business of the German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, sold in 2020 for 18.7 billion US dollars (approximately 592 billion New Taiwan Dollars) to private equity firms Advent International and Cinven. Thyssenkrupp still holds approximately 16.2% of TK Elevator shares, which will be converted into KONE shares after the transaction is completed.
Reuters noted that KONE currently ranks fourth in the North American market, and after the acquisition, it is expected to rise to first place; TK Elevator's sales in North America account for about one-third of its total, indicating high geographical market complementarity between the two. KONE will also enter the South American and South Korean markets for the first time through this acquisition.
Panu Laitinmäki, Head of Equity Research at Danske Bank, described it as a "quite impressive deal" in an interview with Reuters, considering the synergy figures calculated from the acquirer's revenue ratio. He analyzed that the elevator market has entered a mature stage, where larger scale often means higher profitability, making this deal "definitely a good move" strategically.
However, whether the merger can be successfully completed remains uncertain. Reuters reported that KONE expects the transaction to take 12 to 18 months to complete, and the European Commission has not yet received notification of the filing; analysts anticipate strict antitrust review due to KONE and TK Elevator's high market shares in some European markets. Swiss elevator company Schindler has publicly stated its objection to this. The combined KONE and TK Elevator will have over 100,000 employees globally and annual sales exceeding 20 billion euros, but whether this century-long merger can succeed will depend on passing antitrust reviews in various countries. (Editor: Wei Shu) 1150430
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to get the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio-visual content of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.