Rockwell Automation, the company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has entered into an agreement to acquire Plex Systems, the cloud-native smart manufacturing platform operating at scale, for $2.22 billion in cash.

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, Rockwell will welcome more than 500 new employees.

According to the company, Plex offers the only single-instance, multi-tenant SaaS manufacturing platform operating at scale, including advanced manufacturing execution systems, quality, and supply chain management capabilities. It has over 700 customers and manages more than 8 billion transactions per day.

Plex’s software capabilities will be further differentiated by Rockwell’s global market access, complementary industry expertise, and ability to turn real-time data into actionable insights.

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