Lift maker Kone strikes €29bn deal to buy TK Elevator
Source · Mergers & Acquisitions desk
— Summary
Finland’s Kone has agreed to buy German rival TK Elevator (TKE) in a €29bn deal — the largest takeover in Finnish corporate history and one of Europe’s biggest M&A trades in recent years. The combined group would generate roughly €21bn in annual revenues.
The price tag breaks down into €5bn of cash, about €15bn of Kone shares, and the assumption of €9.2bn of TKE debt. The seller is a private-equity consortium led by Advent and Cinven, which bought TKE from Thyssenkrupp for €17bn in 2020 alongside Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and RAG Foundation; Saudi group Alat acquired a 15% stake last year. TKE generated around €9.2bn of revenues in the year to end-September. The deal — pursued by Kone for a decade — closes no earlier than the second quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval, and represents one of Europe’s biggest-ever private-equity exits.
Strategically, the combination merges Kone’s Asian strength with TKE’s US presence and tilts both groups further toward the higher-margin services business: TKE CEO Uday Yadav notes that of 22 million lifts worldwide, 30% are more than 20 years old and ripe for refit, while ageing populations in Europe and China structurally lift demand for new installations. Kone shares are down about 6% year-to-date, valuing the buyer at around €25bn. Source: Financial Times, 29 April 2026, Ivan Levingston and Richard Milne.
Key numbers
Metric
Value
Total deal value
€29bn
Cash
€5bn
Stock
~€15bn Kone shares
Assumed TKE debt
€9.2bn
Combined annual revenue
~€21bn
Why it matters
Two converging structural trends drive the deal: ageing populations (more lifts going in across Europe, China, the rest of Asia) and the services-revenue pivot (the maintenance contract for an installed lift is far more profitable and stable than the original sale). With 22 million lifts worldwide and 30% over 20 years old, the medium-term refit market is large.
For Kone, the deal combines its Asian strength with TKE’s US presence; for Advent and Cinven, it is one of the largest private-equity exits ever in Europe — and a much-needed boost for a sector that has seen sales and IPOs fall short of expectations. Advent and Cinven bought TKE from Thyssenkrupp for €17bn in 2020, alongside Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and RAG Foundation. Saudi group Alat took a 15% stake last year.
Takeaway
Industrial logic looks sound; regulatory approval is the swing factor (deal closes earliest Q2 2027). The implied ~3.2x EV/sales offers a useful anchor for valuing other elevator pure-plays, including Schindler.
— Delfineo's Take
An installed base of 22 million lifts worldwide — 30% over 20 years old — is the structural Berkshire-style annuity Delfineo looks for in capital-goods names. The Kone-TKE deal trades cyclical new-installation upside for service-revenue predictability, much like the elevator-services thesis that underpins Delfineo’s view on Schindler. The price (~€29bn EV for ~€9.2bn revenue, ~3.2x sales) sits in line with where Schindler trades and well below the 2020 buy-out multiple Advent and Cinven paid — a useful anchor for valuation work.