The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) acquisition of Juniper Networks, citing concerns that the deal would significantly reduce competition in the wireless local area network market. The merger, valued at $14 billion, would leave just two companies controlling over 70% of the US enterprise WLAN market.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi argued that the proposed merger would weaken innovation and result in higher prices for consumers. The DOJ claims that only three companies effectively compete in the US WLAN market: HPE, Juniper, and Cisco Systems.
However, the two companies involved in the merger dispute this claim, stating that the market is more competitive than the DOJ suggests. They argue that smaller players like Fortinet, Arista, and Nile Networks are competing for business and that the market is shifting towards AI and cloud-driven solutions.
Industry experts, including network specialists, generally favor the merger, believing it would drive innovation and force Cisco to stay up-to-date with new technologies. HPE and Juniper have stated their intention to defend their merger in court, citing that they believe the DOJ’s concerns are misrepresenting market realities.
The merger has already received approval from competition watchdogs in the UK and European Union, making the US the only major outlier in this matter.
Source: https://www.legaldive.com/news/first-trump-antitrust-move-doj-sues-block-hewlett-packard-juniper-merger-cisco/738904