Schneider Electric pays $22.6 billion for PTC; Dassault trades at 20x earnings against peers' 38x
Schneider Electric's $22.6 billion PTC takeover gives industrial software its first takeout price. Dassault Systèmes, the last big French independent, trades at 20.24x earnings against a 37.66x peer median, and answers for it on October 28 and November 17.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
One deal printed three verdicts on Monday October 5. PTC jumped about 34% in premarket trade on Schneider Electric's $205-a-share cash offer. Schneider closed down 9.97%, erasing close to €15 billion of market value in a session. Dassault Systèmes, the last big French independent in industrial software, rose 2.3% in Paris, and two days later still sat 28.89% below its 52-week high 582.
One deal, three verdicts: the target gained, the buyer lost 10%, the neighbor gained 2%
Data
| One-day move | |
|---|---|
| PTC (premarket) | 34% |
| Dassault Systemes | 2.3% |
| Schneider Electric | -9.97% |
The sector's first takeout price
The merger agreement, dated October 4, hands PTC shareholders $22.6 billion of equity at a 42.3% premium, or about 21x estimated 2027 adjusted EBITA, falling to 13x only if €250 million of cost cuts and roughly €800 million of revenue synergies arrive 18. What that buys: about €2.4 billion of CY25 revenue at a roughly 40% adjusted EBITA margin, growing toward a near-10% ARR target 18. Schneider's chief executive Olivier Blum calls CAD engineering "a very critical part of the portfolio" 6. A French buyer crossed the Atlantic for the category rather than buy its French neighbor.
Same software, two different industries
Dassault, the maker of CATIA and SOLIDWORKS, trades at €21.59 for a €28.3 billion market cap: 20.24x trailing earnings against a 37.66x median for 333 application-software peers 23. Its price implies about 3% annual free-cash-flow growth for a decade, against 19.35% a year of EPS growth delivered over the last five 3.
The 4% is an average
Q2 revenue rose 4% at constant currency to €1.556 billion. Subscription grew 8%, 3DEXPERIENCE and cloud each 14%, with 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud itself up 60%, while Medidata, the clinical arm, shrank 3% on weak 2025 bookings and the Moderna impact 7. Full-year guidance is €6.296–6.416 billion 7. Set against that, Dassault's €28.3 billion market cap is about 4.5x guided revenue; Schneider's €20.1 billion equity value is about 8.4x PTC's €2.4 billion 12. Roughly half the sector's brand-new takeout multiple, for the larger franchise.
Dassault's 4% is an average: platform lines run at 14%, life sciences shrinks
- Estimate
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| 3DEXPERIENCE | 14% |
| Cloud | 14% |
| PTC ARR target (estimate) | 10% |
| Subscription | 8% |
| Dassault total | 4% |
| Medidata | -3% |
The discount is partly earned
PTC is being bought on near-10% growth; Dassault guides 3–5% for 2026 87. Jefferies' Lucas Ferhani says AI-disruption fear left PTC "at a decade low valuation", which is precisely what made it buyable 5. Reuters' Breakingviews column framed the deal as mixing "an unambiguous AI winner" with "a possible loser" 8. Dassault is buying rather than selling: ArisGlobal for $1.8 billion cash plus up to $200 million tied to AI revenue milestones 7. One desk calls Dassault the clearest European beneficiary and a credible consolidation candidate 5. No source carries a bid.
Two dates to answer
Q3 results land October 28 and the Capital Markets Day follows on November 17 2. ArisGlobal closes late this quarter or early next 7, and this week Dassault is pitching virtual twins to India's chip builders 4. The sector finally has a takeout price. Dassault trades as if nobody will ever pay one.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
