Acquisition of Juniper Networks by HPE not yet completed

hpe discover sphere
Source: HPE

Will the U.S. government stand in the way of HPE’s plans to acquire Juniper Networks? The final hurdle may still be a high one.

The European Union and the United Kingdom have already given their approval, but the United States may still block an acquisition of Juniper Networks by HPE. HPE representatives sat down again this week with the U.S. Justice Department to convince them to let the deal go through, Bloomberg writes.

HPE announced a year ago that it was acquiring Juniper Networks for $14 billion. An agreement between two companies is no guarantee that an acquisition will actually be allowed to proceed, especially when billions are involved. Regulators must first examine whether an acquisition could lead to a concentration of power within an industry.

Waiting for final ruling

Under Biden’s tenure, no final ruling came from the DOJ. The Biden administration often held back from major acquisitions in the tech industry. Trump’s re-election also represents a change of power in government departments. It remains to be seen what course the new administration will take.

The new head of the DOJ, Gail Slater, herself must still wait for her nomination to be approved by the Senate. A final ruling will most likely come after that. According to Bloomberg sources, DOJ would be ready with a complaint if HPE and Juniper want to push the acquisition through this week. The deal between the two companies still runs until October, giving time for negotiations.

Network giant

The acquisition plans will scare many in the networking sector. With Aruba Networks, HPE already has a firm foot in. If Juniper is added to that, a potential networking giant is on the horizon. CEO Antonio Neri said recently that HPEwill beat its core a networking company. Regulators think Cisco will take solid hits, so they are taking their time assessing the impact of a merger on the market.

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HPE remains optimistic that it will be able to permanently acquire Juniper in early 2025, Neri reiterated in an interview with Bloomberg during the World Economic Forum, which was attended by major figures in the tech industry. Juniper CEO Rami Rahim was the guest of honor at HPE’s Discover event in Barcelona late last year.


This article originally appeared on Nov. 20 and was updated with the latest information.