France's Schneider Electric is nearing an agreement to acquire U.S. industrial software group PTC for about $20 billion, the Financial Times first reported on Sunday. A person close to the deal confirmed to Reuters that talks are in an advanced stage and an announcement could come as early as Monday — though discussions are ongoing and there is no certainty they will result in a transaction.
Boston-based PTC is a veteran of engineering and industrial software, best known for its Creo computer-aided design platform along with product lifecycle management (PLM), augmented reality, and IoT tools. At roughly $15.63 billion in market value, according to LSEG data, the company would change hands at a significant premium. PTC shares surged in after-hours trading on the news, as investors bet the marriage makes sense.
Neither Schneider Electric nor PTC immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the FT report. The person familiar with the matter stressed that talks continue with no guarantee of a final agreement — standard language in the endgame of large takeovers, where price and closing conditions are typically haggled over until the last minute.
If completed, the deal would be Schneider's largest acquisition ever, eclipsing its roughly $11 billion purchase of British software firm Aveva in 2023. The logic is clear: Schneider is transforming from a maker of fuses and circuit breakers into an industrial software and energy-management giant. In June it agreed to acquire Cognite, a privately held provider of AI software and industrial data; adding PTC would complete a software toolchain spanning design, manufacturing, and servicing. PTC's AI-powered tools and its SaaS and digital-twin businesses are growing fast — exactly the puzzle piece Schneider wants.
Schneider has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the data center boom, supplying everything from cooling units and server racks to critical power distribution equipment. Surging U.S. demand for data centers is driving its earnings and helping offset weakness in some traditional electrical-equipment markets. In July, the company lifted its annual revenue forecast after reporting record first-half results. With shares up 28% year-to-date and a market capitalization of about €175 billion, Schneider has ample firepower for big software bets.
According to the source, a deal could be unveiled as early as Monday. But large cross-border takeovers can still unravel before signing, and regulatory review and financing arrangements could yet complicate matters. If it closes, this would be one of the year's biggest industrial-tech consolidations: French energy-management expertise combined with an American engineering software stack, in a race among industrial conglomerates to own the software that powers modern manufacturing.