Digital technology partnership, $1 billion equity investment announced

PTC Inc. and Rockwell Automation announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a strategic partnership to enhance their digital technology platforms. As part of the agreement, Rockwell Automation will make a $1 billion equity investment in PTC.

By PTC, Rockwell Automation June 11, 2018

PTC Inc. (NASDAQ: PTC) and Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a strategic partnership that is expected to accelerate growth for both companies and enable them to be the partner of choice for customers around the world who want to transform their physical operations with digital technology. As part of the partnership, Rockwell Automation will make a $1 billion equity investment in PTC, and Rockwell Automation’s chairman and CEO, Blake Moret, will join PTC’s board of directors effective with the closing of the equity transaction.

The partnership leverages both companies’ resources, technologies, industry expertise, and market presence, and will include technical collaboration across the organizations as well as joint global go-to-market initiatives. In particular, PTC and Rockwell Automation have agreed to align their respective smart factory technologies. The result is intended to enable customers to achieve increased productivity, heightened plant efficiency, reduced operational risk, and better system interoperability.

“Our combined customer base will benefit from two world-class organizations that understand their business and deliver comprehensive, innovative, and integrated solutions,” said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. 

Moret said, “We believe this strategic partnership will enable us to accelerate growth by building on both companies’ records of innovation to extend the value of the Connected Enterprise and deepen our customer relationships. As information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT) converge, there is a natural alignment between our companies. Together, we will offer the most comprehensive and flexible Internet of Things (IoT) offering in the industrial space.”

PTC Inc.

www.ptc.com 

Rockwell Automation

www.rockwellautomation.com 

– Edited from a PTC and Rockwell Automation press release by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering industrial networking stories.