EU regulators to decide on $14 bln HP-Juniper deal by Aug. 1

Juniper Networks

28/06/2024 11:20

By Foo Yun Chee
       BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators
will decide by Aug. 1 whether to clear Hewlett Packard
Enterprise's  HPE.N  $14 billion acquisition of networking gear
maker Juniper Networks  JNPR.N , a filing on the European
Commission website showed on Friday.
     The deal announced in January would boost HPE's artificial
intelligence (AI) products and double its networking business,
underscoring the push by numerous companies to make AI their
next big growth driver.
    The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition
enforcer, could clear the deal with or without demanding
concessions after its preliminary review or open a full-scale
investigation.
    HPE is expected to point to market leader and Juniper rival
Cisco  CSCO.O  to ease any EU competition concerns.
    The UK competition watchdog is also examining the deal, with
a decision due by Aug. 14.

 (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason Neely)
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