Thyssenkrupp on Thursday said that the European Commission has cleared the sale of its elevator division to a private equity consortium including Advent, Cinven [CINV.UL] and Germany's RAG foundation, paving the way for the deal's closing.

"It has been contractually agreed with the buyers that the closing will take place by July 31, 2020," Thyssenkrupp said in a statement. Sources told Reuters earlier on Thursday that the deal would close in July.

The 17.2 billion euro (£15.5 billion) transaction, agreed in February, provides Thyssenkrupp with a badly needed injection of cash it needs to fund pension liabilities and to lower debt.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Edward Taylor)