Schindler sees customer, hiring opportunities in Kone-TKE merger

By Emanuele Berro

July 21 (Reuters) - Lift maker Schindler sees opportunities to win customers, recruit staff and potentially acquire assets as rivals Kone and TK Elevator seek regulatory approval for their planned merger, Chief Executive Paolo Compagna told Reuters on Tuesday.

Compagna said the proposed combination was likely to face scrutiny from competition authorities in multiple jurisdictions and could create disruption for both customers and employees during what would be a complex integration process.

"Would we be ready to talk and to see and to listen? Well, let's see, yes," Compagna said when asked whether Schindler could be interested in any assets divested as part of a regulatory review, while stressing that such a scenario remained uncertain.

Finland-based Kone agreed to buy its German rival TK Elevator for €29.4 billion in April, a deal that would create ​the world's largest lift maker.

Schindler has been one of the deal's most vocal critics. Compagna said in March, when merger talks first emerged, that the company would challenge any tie-up before antitrust authorities, arguing that it would trigger a "bloodbath" across the industry.

On Tuesday, he reiterated Schindler's view that the merger could create opportunities for rivals to gain market share and attract talent while Kone and TK Elevator focus on integrating their operations.

The Lucerne-based company reported on Tuesday second-quarter sales below market expectations, dragged by a persistently sluggish Chinese market and currency effects.

(Reporting by Emanuele Berro; Editing by Matt Scuffham)