Schneider Electric to buy PTC for $22.6 billion

Schneider Electric agreed on October 5, 2026 to buy PTC, the Boston software company behind the Creo and Onshape design tools, for $22.6 billion in cash. It is the French industrial group's largest acquisition to date, Silicon Republic reports. The deal puts some of the most widely used engineering software in manufacturing under the ownership of a company that sells electrical hardware. Software would grow to about 24% of Schneider's revenue, by Constellation Research's estimate.

The terms of the deal

Schneider will pay $205 for each PTC share. MarketScreener reports that this is a 42.3% premium to PTC's last closing price. It is also 46.1% above PTC's average price over the previous 30 trading days.

Term	Detail
Price	$22.6 billion, all cash
Per share	$205
Premium	42.3% to last close; 46.1% to 30-day average
Equity to be raised	About €5 billion to €6 billion
New debt	About €16 billion to €17 billion
Bridge loan	Morgan Stanley and Société Générale
Expected close	Q3 2027

Both boards approved the deal unanimously. It still needs a vote by PTC shareholders and approval from regulators, according to MarketScreener. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley advised Schneider, and Evercore advised PTC.

Investors split on the price. PTC stock closed at $192.26, up 33%, The Boston Globe reports. Schneider shares fell 10% to $61.50 on the US over-the-counter market. The gap between $192.26 and the $205 offer likely reflects the wait until Q3 2027 and the approvals still ahead.

What PTC makes

PTC sells software that engineers use to design and manage physical products. The Globe describes its specialty as computer-aided design, or CAD, which engineers use to model parts in 3D. It also sells PLM, short for product lifecycle management. A PLM system tracks every version of a product's design, from the first sketch to the factory floor.

Beyond PLM's Oleg Shilovitsky lists the portfolio: Creo, Windchill, Onshape, Arena, Codebeamer, Orbit and Jetstream. Onshape is a CAD tool that runs in a web browser. PTC also has an AI platform with 12 AI agents, the same analysis says.

The business is steady. PTC reported $2.7 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025, the Globe says. Constellation Research says PTC expects $2.69 billion to $2.75 billion for fiscal 2026, with $850 million in free cash flow. It serves more than 30,000 customers.

Why Schneider wants it

Schneider is mostly a hardware company today. The Globe reports that 80% of its $45 billion in 2025 revenue came from hardware and services. Constellation Research says the deal would roughly triple Schneider's software business.

Chief executive Olivier Blum framed it around data. Silicon Republic quotes him: connecting data across the life of products and assets will "create a unique digital thread for the next generation of industrial AI." A digital thread is one connected record of a product's data, from design through manufacturing to daily operation.

PTC would join two earlier software purchases. Schneider bought the British company AVEVA in 2023, the Globe notes, and Silicon Republic reports a $3.1 billion purchase of industrial AI company Cognite in July 2026. PTC chief executive Neil Barua called the deal "an incredible opportunity to elevate the scope and impact of what we deliver."

Schneider expects €250 million in yearly cost savings by year three and €800 million in new revenue, Constellation Research reports.

What this means for developers

For engineering teams on Creo, Windchill or Onshape, nothing changes yet, because the deal is not expected to close until Q3 2027. Use the time to read your contract's renewal and change-of-ownership terms, and avoid locking in a long renewal on the assumption that prices and roadmaps will hold.

The key promise to test is openness. Silicon Republic reports that Schneider describes the goal as an "open and interoperable industrial software and AI franchise." Beyond PLM reports a commitment to support competing systems. If your factory runs another vendor's automation hardware, ask PTC how that support will be written into contracts, not just press statements.

Teams that build integrations on PTC products should watch the younger tools most closely. Shilovitsky flags the integration burden on Onshape and Jetstream as a risk. Track their API and release notes through 2027, and plan for a slower pace or changed priorities while three software businesses merge.