KONE and TK Elevator: where the deal stands

Published 15 October 2026

Where it stands today

KONE is buying TK Elevator for €29.4 billion. Shareholders have approved it. No regulator has.
Regulators in the US, India and Singapore are reviewing it, and the UK is taking comments.
New: KONE is getting ready to sell most of TK Elevator's European business so the EU will approve it, possibly starting in November.
New: Mitsubishi Electric and Fujitec are reported to be looking at buying it.
In North America nothing has changed yet. The two companies still compete, and nothing announced so far changes who employs TK Elevator's mechanics or which IUEC contracts cover them. More on that at the end.
KONE doesn't expect it to close before the second quarter of 2027, and it can still fall through.

Previously reported in Counterweight

New, not previously reported

Jump to the new rows ↓

Rows tagged NORTH AMERICA are the ones that matter most on this side of the Atlantic.

How we got here

24 Mar

Schindler says it's ready to fight it

Schindler's CEO told Reuters it's ready to oppose a KONE takeover in front of the antitrust regulators.
This was a month before the deal was signed.

Reuters via US News →

29 Apr

The deal is signed

KONE pays €5 billion in cash plus up to 270 million new KONE shares, valuing TK Elevator at €29.4 billion.
Together they'd be the biggest elevator company in the world.
KONE expects about €700 million a year in cost savings, fully in place by the end of year three.
thyssenkrupp, which kept 16.2%, could get up to €3.4 billion (Jefferies and JPMorgan estimates).
Closing: not before the second quarter of 2027.
Schindler, the same day: expect "considerable resistance" from the industry, and long reviews and legal fights.

KONE → thyssenkrupp's share → Schindler →

11 May

The unions say they were never asked

IndustriALL, the global federation of industrial unions, says the deal broke agreements TK Elevator signed with its unions.
Workers found out from the news, then got an email from the CEO.
IG Metall won't accept "the sacrifice of thousands of good jobs under the guise of synergies".
They want guarantees on jobs and sites, and a promise from KONE to keep TK Elevator's agreements.

IndustriALL →

3 Jun

KONE's shareholders say yes

Up to 270 million new shares are approved.
The sellers, Advent and Cinven, get two KONE board seats once it closes.
From here on, only regulators stand in the way.

KONE →

21 Jul

Schindler circles, KONE counts the cost

Schindler's CEO sees a chance to win customers and hire staff, and is open to talking about buying anything KONE is forced to sell.
The next day, KONE's half-year report showed €25.8 million booked in deal costs so far this year.
KONE says filings are under way in every key country.

Schindler (Reuters) → KONE half-year report →

8 Aug

NORTH AMERICAFewer big bidders

CNBC: one Wall Street analyst says the deal could help Otis.
Building owners would go from four big companies bidding on their elevator work to three.

CNBC →

Aug

NORTH AMERICAThe US opens an in-depth review

The Justice Department sent both companies a "second request".
It's looking at whether the deal hurts competition in the US.
These reviews can take a year or more.
KONE's finance chief had already said KONE is prepared to sell some assets to satisfy regulators.

Bloomberg via ArcaMax →

Sep

India

The companies filed with India's competition regulator and say there's no competition concern there.
By market estimates KONE already has about a quarter of India's elevator market.

India filing →

14 May

NORTH AMERICATK Elevator's North American site tells customers what to expect

Until the deal closes, the two companies run completely separately and keep competing.
There's a strict wall between them: no confidential information shared.
Sales, pricing and customer dealings stay separate.
Existing TK Elevator equipment and service contracts "will be fully supported for years to come".

TK Elevator customer handout (PDF) →

4 Sep

The unions get organized

About 80 delegates from 13 countries met to coordinate.
They want guarantees on jobs, sites and conditions before closing, and plan to lobby the EU.
None were from the US or Canada, and we found no public statement from the IUEC.

IndustriALL →

10 Sep

Singapore

KONE notified Singapore's competition regulator.
It went public on 7 October.
Anyone can comment until 20 October.

Singapore case page →

22 Sep

The UK

The Competition and Markets Authority opened an "invitation to comment".
That's the step before a formal investigation, which hasn't started.

CMA case page →

1 Oct

KONE prepares to sell TK Elevator Europe

Reuters: KONE is getting ready to sell most of TK Elevator's European elevator, escalator and service business, to get EU approval.
The sale could start as soon as November.
TK Elevator made about €2.5 billion in Europe last year, around 27% of its sales.
Citigroup thinks the sales could raise about €2.1 billion.
The sale being prepared is of European business. Nothing reported so far includes TK Elevator in North America.

Reuters →

5 Oct

Who might buy it

Bloomberg: Mitsubishi Electric and Fujitec are looking at bids.
Bloomberg puts the package at about €5 billion or more, well above Citigroup's figure. What's in it is still being worked out with Brussels.
The buyers and sellers wouldn't comment. KONE said it has always been clear that it may have to sell businesses in some countries to win approval.

Bloomberg, via dpa-AFX (German) →

What it means in North America

For now, not much changes. The union fight is in Europe, and the sale KONE is preparing is of European business. KONE is buying TK Elevator's parent company, not its businesses one at a time. That doesn't by itself change who employs TK Elevator's mechanics in Canada and the US, or which IUEC agreements cover them. Until closing, the two companies keep competing for the same work.

Canada: in Ontario, BC, and Newfoundland and Labrador, KONE and TK Elevator both bargain with the IUEC through NEEA, alongside Otis and Schindler. NEEA also bargains in the Maritimes, where Local 125 was on strike from 10 September until mechanics went back to work on 8 October, with no word yet on a deal. TK Elevator, one of NEEA's members, says it is working through the backlog. CBC → We found no public notice of a review by Canada's Competition Bureau.
US: KONE Inc. and TK Elevator Corporation are both members of NEBA, the employer group that signs the national IUEC agreement. That agreement runs out on 8 July 2027, so the next one will be negotiated right around the time the deal could close. NEBA agreement →
Customers: four big bidders would become three. One analyst says that could help Otis. TK Elevator says existing equipment and service contracts will keep being supported.
Still unknown: whether the US review forces KONE to sell part of its US business, and what the €700 million in savings will mean for jobs here.

Can it still fall through?

Yes. Shareholders have signed off, but every regulator still has a say, and any of them can block it or demand more than KONE is willing to give.

Europe is the big test. Selling most of TK Elevator's European business is KONE's answer. It's not a new idea: when thyssenkrupp sold this business in 2019 and 2020, KONE was in talks with the fund CVC about a joint bid, with CVC taking the European parts where the two companies overlapped, for the same reason. thyssenkrupp sold to Advent and Cinven instead. Bloomberg, 2019 →
The US review can run a year or more and can end in a demand for US sales, or a lawsuit to stop the deal.
Schindler has said to expect long reviews and legal fights, and says it's open to looking at anything KONE has to sell.
If it falls apart, KONE owes a break-up fee. Its CEO called it "customary" and wouldn't say how much. Reuters via AJOT →

So far, though, everything points one way. KONE is working out what to sell to get it through, not looking for a way out.

What to watch

20 October: Singapore's comment window closes.
November: the European sale could start.
The UK: a formal investigation, or not.
8 July 2027: the US national IUEC agreement expires.
Closing: second quarter of 2027 at the earliest.

For the longer view of who's bought whom since 2020, read our feature Six years, one industry, a lot fewer owners.

Discuss on the forum →

KONE and TK Elevator: where the deal stands

How we got here

Can it still fall through?

What to watch

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