French industrial giant Schneider Electric announced an all-cash acquisition of U.S. industrial software company PTC Inc. for approximately $22.6 billion (including assumed net debt, the total transaction value is approximately $24 billion). This marks the largest acquisition in the company's history, aiming to build a complete software system covering the entire lifecycle of industrial product design and manufacturing, and to accelerate its bet on AI industrial software. The acquisition price represents a 42% premium over PTC's recent closing price, and it is expected to take five years to achieve a return commensurate with the cost of capital. Following the announcement, Schneider Electric's shares listed in Paris plummeted nearly 10%, marking their largest daily drop since January 2025; PTC's U.S. shares surged approximately 33.5%. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2027, with funding sources including an equity issuance of up to €6 billion and new debt of up to €17 billion.