Schneider Electric SE has agreed to acquire industrial software firm PTC Inc. for approximately $22.6 billion in its largest acquisition to date.
The deal, struck at a bargain valuation, reflects the growing divide between AI winners and losers across the global technology landscape.
Schneider will pay $205 per PTC share, representing a 42.3% premium to PTC’s last closing price of $144.03 before the announcement was made.
The total transaction values PTC at approximately $23.7 billion including debt and other liabilities, with the deal expected to close by the third quarter of 2027.
PTC’s valuation had fallen as low as 13.1 times next-12-month earnings this year, according to FactSet data tracking the industrial software company.
Jefferies analysts led by Lucas Ferhani warned that “AI disruption fears are still weighing on software valuations, which allows acquiring PTC at a decade-low valuation but could still weigh on [Schneider] post-deal.”
PTC makes software that helps manufacturers design, build and manage physical products, allowing companies to create products digitally and track them through their full lifecycles.
The acquisition aims to create one of the largest industrial-software portfolios at a time when AI is fundamentally reshaping what customers need from technology providers.
After the deal closes, nearly a quarter of Schneider’s revenue will come from software and services, up from less than a fifth of total revenue currently.
Schneider, a company with roots in industrial-revolution France two centuries ago, has seen its shares almost double in value over the past three years amid surging data-center demand.
That surge in demand has driven sales of Schneider’s prefabricated IT and power modules, cooling systems, and other products that are critical to the ongoing AI infrastructure build-out.
Schneider said the acquisition would complement its existing industrial software portfolio, including AVEVA and its proposed acquisition of Cognite, creating a broader connected platform.
The company expects the deal to generate 250 million euros in annual cost synergies by the third year and approximately 800 million euros in revenue synergies over time.
Schneider also expects the transaction to be immediately low-single-digit accretive to adjusted earnings per share before purchase price accounting in the first full year of consolidation.
CEO Olivier Blum described the acquisition as the cornerstone of a broader initiative to build “the industry’s most complete Software & AI powerhouse” going forward.
Schneider plans to finance the purchase through a mix of new equity and additional debt, as the company deepens its strategic bet on AI-driven industrial transformation.
Shares in Schneider dropped more than 8% in European morning trading following the announcement, while PTC’s stock jumped 35% in U.S. premarket exchanges.
