Rockwell Automation Inc. is acquiring closely held Plex Systems for $2.22 billion in cash to boost its offering of cloud services to customers ranging from automakers to warehousing and logistics firms. The acquisition is expected to close in the quarter ending in September, Rockwell said Friday in a statement. The Milwaukee-based company will bring on 500+ employees from closely held Plex.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Rockwell Automation, Inc.'s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating and senior notes at 'A', and Short-Term IDR and Commercial Paper at 'F1'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. This action follows the company's announcement that it has agreed to acquire Plex Systems from Francisco Partners for $2.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close in Rockwell's fiscal fourth quarter.

Paul Hastings is guiding investment firm Francisco Partners in its $2.2 billion cash deal to sell manufacturing software maker Plex Systems to Rockwell Automation. Rockwell announced the deal on June 25th as the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based industrial automation equipment maker looks to boost its revenue from cloud offerings.

Rockwell Automation Inc. agreed to buy industrial cloud software company Plex Systems for $2.2 billion. Rockwell has traditionally preferred to partner with companies to expand its software offerings, but the company signaled it may be thinking about more overt takeovers last year. Plex Systems is Rockwell's largest publicly announced takeover.

In a report released today, Noah Kaye from Oppenheimer assigned a Buy rating to Rockwell Automation, with a price target of $286.00. The company’s shares closed last Thursday at $285.51, close to its 52-week high of $289.52. Corporate insider sentiment is positive on the stock.

Rockwell to acquire Plex Systems for $2.22 billion in cash Plex is the leading pure software-as-a-service, cloud-native smart manufacturing platform operating at scale Plex provides leading applications in manufacturing execution, supply chain visibility, and quality management across discrete, hybrid, and process industry segments Plex revenue growing double digits and acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Rockwell ope

“Plex has always been at the forefront of the smart manufacturing revolution having launched its first cloud-native products more than two decades ago,” said Petri Oksanen, Partner at Francisco Partners. “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to support the Plex team in accelerating their execution against this transformative vision and greatly scaling the business.”

Plex literally wrote the book on cloud-based ERP, having been doing this since the late 1990s. Many of their competitors only recently embraced cloud and/or multi-tenant cloud technology. Plex has developed deep manufacturing expertise in the automotive sector along the way. The deal will be very complementary and should be accretive in a relatively short time.

Troy, MI, June 8, 2021 — Plex Systems, the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, today announced that Hatch Stamping Company, Omega Bio-tek and Thai Summit America are the 2021 Plex Impact Award winners.

Hexagon and Plex will partner in opportunities, initially in Europe and India, where Hexagon prospects and customers have MES needs. The combination of Hexagon and Plex for these manufacturers provides a fully digitalized solution from plant measurement and metrology to managing end-to-end production.