HPE, Juniper Reach Deal With DOJ to Clear Planned $14B Acquisition

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks have reached a settlement with the Department of Justice, paving the way for HPE to finalize its proposed $14 billion acquisition of the networking products provider.

HPE President and CEO Antonio Neri welcomed the agreement with DOJ, saying it maintains the transaction’s intended benefits to shareholders and customers while driving greater competition in the global networking market.

“For the first time, customers will now have a modern network architecture alternative that can best support the demands of AI workloads. The combination of HPE Aruba Networking and Juniper Networks will provide customers with a comprehensive portfolio of secure, AI-native networking solutions, and accelerate HPE’s ability to grow in the AI data center, service provider and cloud segments,” Neri said in a statement published Saturday.

HPE, Juniper Respond to DOJ’s Move to Block Merger

In response to the DOJ’s decision to file a lawsuit challenging the proposed acquisition, HPE and Juniper maintained that the proposed deal is “pro-competitive” and noted that they would vigorously defend against the department’s “overreaching interpretation of antitrust laws.”

In its complaint filed in the Northern District of California in January, DOJ claimed that the proposed deal would undermine innovation and reduce competition between HPE and Juniper, which are the second- and third-largest providers of enterprise wireless local area network, or WLAN, technology in the U.S. 

HPE, Juniper Agree on $14B All-Cash Deal

In January 2024, HPE agreed to buy Juniper in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $14 billion, or $40 per share. The proposed deal will enable HPE to expand its networking business in response to the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence tools and hybrid cloud platforms.

Upon the deal’s closing, Juniper CEO Rami Rahim will report to Neri and oversee the combined networking business.

“This marks an exciting step forward in delivering on a critical customer need – a complete portfolio of modern, secure networking solutions to connect their organizations and provide essential foundations for hybrid cloud and AI,” said Rahim. “We look forward to closing this transaction and turning our shared vision into reality for enterprise, service provider and cloud customers.”

Requirements in DOJ Settlement Over HPE-Juniper Deal

Under the settlement, HPE must divest its global Instant On campus and branch WLAN business to a DOJ-approved buyer within 180 days.

Upon the deal’s closing, the merged firm should hold an auction to license Juniper’s AI Ops for Mist source code to independent competitors.