Schneider Electric agrees to buy PTC for $22.6 billion

Schneider Electric agreed on 5 October 2026 to acquire PTC, the Boston-based industrial software company, for $22.6 billion in cash, its largest acquisition ever. The offer values PTC at $205 a share, a roughly 42% premium to PTC's closing price on Friday, and implies an enterprise value of about $23.7 billion. The French group's shares fell about 10% in Paris trading while PTC shares surged about 34% in U.S. trading.heise.de

The deal matters because it pushes Schneider deeper into software and artificial intelligence at a moment when datacenter construction, especially in the United States, is driving the company's growth. Schneider already supplies cooling systems, server racks and power-distribution equipment to datacenters. PTC adds computer-aided design software and lifecycle management tools for manufacturers, giving Schneider engineering and design data it believes will make its own industrial AI applications more valuable.

A 42% premium in cash

PTC, founded in 1985, built its business on computer-aided design software and lifecycle management tools for industrial products and applications. Boston-based PTC employs about 7,000 people, serves around 30,000 customers and generates nearly half its revenue from the Americas. PTC's board approved the offer, and Chief Executive Neil Barua said the deal gives PTC "substantial scale and resources to accelerate innovation, advance our Intelligent Product Lifecycle vision."

Schneider Chief Executive Olivier Blum told investors that owning PTC and Cognite would let the company inject software-defined automation into power systems early in their design, improving efficiency. "We believe that at the design stage, it is super important that you can help your customer to design both product, machine, processes and energy system," Blum said, calling CAD engineering a critical part of the portfolio. Datacenters are one of Schneider's initial targets for this approach.

Investors reacted sharply to the price. Schneider's shares fell about 10% in Paris trading, erasing close to €15 billion, or roughly $17 billion, of market value, and the decline helped drag France's CAC 40 lower even as the broader European STOXX 600 advanced. PTC shares rose about 34% in U.S. trading. Heise reported the Schneider share price fell by well over 10% on Monday morning.

How investors reacted to the price

Jefferies analysts said in a research note that fears of AI-driven disruption are still weighing on software valuations, which lets Schneider acquire PTC at a decade-low valuation multiple while adding risk for Schneider shareholders. The same note, cited in reporting, said AI disruption concerns have depressed software valuations, creating an opportunity for Schneider. Investors were also weighing the size of the premium and software valuations against AI-related market uncertainty.

Schneider plans to fund the purchase with new shares and debt: about €5 billion to €6 billion through an equity issuance under an existing shareholder authorization, plus roughly €16 billion to €17 billion of new debt. Management is targeting €250 million in annual cost savings by the third year after completion and expects approximately €800 million in revenue synergies. Schneider expects software-as-a-service revenue to reach about 24% of group sales after the combination.

Financing the deal with shares and debt

Closing is expected in the third quarter of 2027, subject to approval from PTC shareholders and regulators. The deal is Schneider's largest ever, and the company has said it does not expect to close until late next year. Schneider's datacenter business now supplies chipmakers such as Nvidia and generates about a quarter of total revenue.