Thyssen Industrie to Buy Unit of Dover

Thyssen Industrie, the world’s No. 5 elevator and escalator maker, agreed to buy Dover Corp.’s elevator business for about $1.1 billion as part of its bid to expand in North America. Thyssen Industrie, a unit of Germany’s Thyssen, will pay New York-based Dover $1.1 billion plus expenses related to the transaction, Dover said. The purchase, Thyssen’s biggest ever, is expected to be completed this year. Thyssen’s elevator unit had 1997 sales of more than $2 billion, mostly outside the U.S., and employed 19,000 people. Dover Elevator had sales of $880 million last year and has more than 7,000 employees.