Kone to buy TK Elevator in $34.4 billion deal, creating lift giant

Kone agreed to buy TK Elevator in a cash-and-share transaction valued at €29.4 billion, or about $34.4 billion, a deal that would create the world’s largest lift maker and one of Europe’s biggest takeovers of the year. The merger would unite the Finnish maker’s broad installed base with the German rival’s global service network, shifting the fight in elevators and escalators even further toward maintenance, modernization and long-term building contracts.

The transaction comes at a moment when elevator companies are valued as much for recurring service revenue as for the equipment they install. Kone said it had about €11.2 billion in sales in 2025, a service base of roughly 1.8 million units, operations in close to 70 countries and more than 60,000 employees. TK Elevator reported €9.2 billion in sales in fiscal 2024/2025, around 50,000 employees, 25,000 service technicians and more than 1,000 support centers globally. Together, those networks would give the combined company enormous reach in the cities, office towers, apartment blocks, hospitals and transit systems that depend on regular servicing and modernization.

That scale is also what is likely to draw antitrust scrutiny. Advisers had already been weighing competition concerns in how the deal was structured, a sign that regulators will look closely at how much power the new company could wield in service contracts and refurbishment work. In a business where contracts can last for years and buildings rarely switch providers easily, a more concentrated market could leave owners with fewer alternatives and less room to negotiate on price and service terms.

The purchase price is split between cash and new Kone shares, with the structure including about $5.9 billion in cash and up to 270 million newly issued Kone shares. That approach gives Kone flexibility to fund a large acquisition while preserving balance-sheet strength, and it gives TK Elevator’s private-equity owners, Advent International and Cinven, a major exit after years of ownership.

Kone and the Advent-Cinven consortium said the combination would bring highly complementary geographic footprints and innovation platforms. TK Elevator became independent after its separation from thyssenkrupp in 2020, and the deal now places two of the industry’s best-known names on a collision course with regulators. For building owners, the outcome could shape who gets to maintain, modernize and profit from the vertical transport systems that move millions of people every day.