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.

“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.”

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.

Hexagon and Plex Systems have announced a new, strategic partnership that will enable Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division to co-sell Plex’s manufacturing execution system (MES) to Hexagon manufacturing customers.

Plex launched its Quality Management System (QMS) as a standalone offering, helping manufacturers adhere to industry compliance, regulations, and standards such as FMEA, PPAP, SQF, and BRC to avoid costly product recalls.

Do manufacturers need to make better products or have a process to document their methods? The answer is both and cloud ERP vendor Plex wants to help those manufacturers without a quality management system (QMS) get moving.

Cathy Pitt is the Chief Security Officer at Plex Systems, Inc. with decades of experience in information security, risk and compliance. Read this security-focused profile that showcase’s Cathy’s demonstrated history of leading and working in and with a variety of industries including services, education and healthcare.

Recent studies from Plex and PTC are not only directional, but also inform us as to how manufacturers see Smart Manufacturing/Fourth Industrial Revolution initiatives in the pandemic age.