Rockwell Automation to acquire Plex Systems for $2.2B

Rockwell Automation will acquire Plex Systems, a cloud-native smart manufacturing platform, for $2.2 billion.

Plex is a single-instance, multi-tenant SaaS manufacturing platform operating at scale, and includes advanced manufacturing execution systems, quality and supply chain management capabilities.

The company maintains over 700 customers and manages more than eight billion transactions per day to connect, automate, track and analyze their operations and connected supply chains.

Plex’s software capabilities will benefit from Rockwell’s global market access, complementary industry expertise, and ability to turn real-time data into actionable insights, the companies say in a statement.

“This acquisition will accelerate our strategy to bring the Connected Enterprise to life, driving faster time to value for our customers as they increasingly adopt cloud solutions to improve resilience, agility and sustainability in their operations,” says Blake Moret, chair and CEO of Rockwell Automation.

“Combining Plex’s cutting-edge cloud technology with Rockwell’s existing software portfolio and domain expertise will add customer value and create more ways to win. The acquisition will also accelerate our software revenue growth and strengthen our annual recurring revenue streams.”

Plex will be reported as part of Rockwell’s Software and Control operating segment, which provides hardware and software offerings for the design, operation and maintenance of production automation and management systems. As a part of the acquisition, 500 employees will join Rockwell Automation.

The acquisition, expected to close in the fourth quarter of Rockwell’s fiscal year, will be financed with a combination of cash and short-term and long-term debt.