The headquarters of the Finnish lift company Kone in Espoo, Finland, April 29, 2026. Lehtikuva/Emmi Korhonen/via REUTERS
HELSINKI, June 3 (Reuters) – Finnish elevator maker Kone said on Wednesday its shareholders have approved the company’s planned $34 billion acquisition of German rival TK Elevator (TKE), which is set to create the world’s largest lift-making group.
The deal announced in April with Advent International, Cinven and other TKE owners is one of Europe’s biggest takeovers in years and the largest sell-side private equity deal in Europe since records began in 1980, LSEG data show.
The approval required a two-thirds majority at an extraordinary general meeting, which had effectively been secured in advance with Kone saying shareholders controlling about 74% of voting power had pre-committed to backing the deal.
Analysts however expect antitrust scrutiny given the market is already highly concentrated, and Kone in April indicated it could thus take some 12 to 18 months to close the deal.
The cash-and-shares deal, valued at 29.4 billion euros ($34.2 billion) including debt at the time of announcement, would propel Kone past U.S. rival Otis, create a European champion and strengthen its presence in the Americas.
The ultimate value of the deal depends, however, on the fluctuations in Kone’s share price.
($1 = 0.8610 euros)
Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik and Anna Ringstrom
