KONE’s €29.4 Billion TK Elevator Deal Faces Regulatory Reviews
Key Facts
KONE’s acquisition of TK Elevator, which valued the company at €29.4 billion, is facing regulatory reviews in several markets, and the company acknowledged that selling some assets may be necessary to secure approval. KONE said, "Asset disposals as a remedy may be necessary in some regions to ensure regulatory approval." The announced valuation includes TK Elevator’s net interest-bearing debt. This makes competition conditions a decisive part of completing a deal that brings together two major companies in the elevator and escalator industry. KONE announced the deal on April 29, 2026, and closing remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Sales data cited by Reuters indicate that TK Elevator generated about €2.5 billion in Europe in the previous year, equivalent to 27% of its sales. That scale underscores the importance of the European market in assessing any potential divestment, as selling operations there could reshape the geographic scope of the business transferred to the combined group. But KONE has not announced a final decision to sell a European unit or disclosed the amount of assets that might be put up for sale in the statement included in the evidence. The available report on preparations for a sale also does not establish that regulators have imposed broad concessions. Any potential divestment therefore remains linked to the approval process, rather than being an outcome announced so far.
The deal includes annual pre-tax cost savings that KONE estimates at about €700 million once the target run rate is reached. The company expects the full impact of those savings to appear in the income statement by the end of the third year after completion. On an illustrative basis using the latest financial year at the time of the announcement, KONE projected combined group sales of about €20.5 billion and adjusted operating profit of more than €2.7 billion before savings. These figures provide an indication of the combined group’s expected financial scale, but remain announced estimates tied to completion of the deal and the realization of synergies. The €29.4 billion enterprise value includes the acquired company’s interest-bearing debt.
The deal is under review in more than one jurisdiction. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority opened an initial information-gathering phase on September 22, 2026, inviting interested parties to submit their views and saying it had not yet started the formal Phase 1 investigation. In Singapore, the Competition and Consumer Commission listed the transaction as pending in its register on October 7, following a notice filed by the parties on September 10. The notice covers overlaps between KONE’s and TK Elevator’s activities in the installation, modernization, maintenance and repair of elevators and escalators. These steps show that the deal is being reviewed in markets outside the European Union as well, without in themselves constituting a final decision on approval.
KONE’s extraordinary general meeting approved the proposed resolutions related to the deal on June 3, 2026. TK Elevator said regulatory filings had been submitted or were being prepared in key jurisdictions, adding that the expected closing date remained in the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest. KONE gave the same timing in its announcement, subject to the necessary approvals. Potential concessions remain part of the process for securing those approvals, while the information provided does not specify whether they would cover particular assets or their size. KONE is scheduled to publish its third-quarter results on October 28, 2026, a date close to continued investor attention on the deal’s costs and progress.