Trump trustbusters flash a clear M&A signal

Juniper Networks

31/01/2025 17:38

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Jonathan Guilford
       NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Competition
cops sued to block tech giant HPE’s $14 bln deal for insurgent
WiFi-for-big-business rival Juniper Networks. The case is a
hangover from the last presidency and new leaders are yet to
take over. Still, amid chaos elsewhere, it dims bankers’ wildest
hopes of free rein.

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    CONTEXT NEWS
    The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Jan. 30 that it
had sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion
acquisition of Juniper Networks. According to a complaint filed
in the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California, the deal would substantially reduce competition for
wireless networking technology.
    In announcing the lawsuit, Omeed Assefi, acting head of the
DOJ’s Antitrust Division, said that the combination would result
in “increasing concentration in an already concentrated market.”
President Trump has nominated Gail Slater to permanently lead
the division, saying in a social media post that “Big Tech has
run wild for years, stifling competition.”
    The companies said that they believe the DOJ's "analysis of
this acquisition is fundamentally flawed," and will "vigorously
defend" the deal.

 (Editing by Jennifer Saba and Pranav Kiran)
 ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  GUILFORD/  
Jonathan.Guilford@thomsonreuters.com))