Autodesk Inc. is working with financial advisers to assess a potential cash-and-stock transaction to acquire fellow engineering-software developer PTC Inc., according to a Bloomberg report on 9 July. Discussions are said to be preliminary, and the companies have not commented publicly on the matter. A tie-up would combine Autodesk’s design and construction platforms with PTC’s product-lifecycle-management and industrial-IoT software, broadening Autodesk’s reach in manufacturing and industrial markets. PTC had a market value of about $18 billion at the close of trading on Tuesday, while Autodesk was valued at roughly $46 billion.