The US Department of Justice (DoJ) sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) $14 billion deal to buy Juniper Networks, arguing the tie-up would eliminate competition in the market for enterprise wireless equipment.

The agency stated HPE and Juniper Networks are the second- and third- largest vendors, respectively, in the enterprise-grade WLAN market. Merging the two will allow HPE and rival Cisco to control more than 70 per cent of the wireless networking sector.

“HPE and Juniper are successful companies. But rather than continue to compete as rivals in the WLAN marketplace, they seek to consolidate — increasing concentration in an already concentrated market,” stated acting assistant attorney general Omeed A. Assefi of the DoJ’s  antitrust division.

It also stated increased competition from Juniper Networks “forced HPE to discount its offerings and invest in its own innovation”.

The complaint noted HPE recognised and “tracked Juniper’s growing significance and engaged in a campaign, including mandatory training for its engineers and salespeople, to ‘beat’ Juniper when competing for contracts”.

Rather than compete directly against Juniper Networks, the DoJ explained HPE chose to buy it in 2024.

HPE and Juniper Networks stated they “will vigorously defend against the Department of Justice’s overreaching interpretation of antitrust laws and will demonstrate how this transaction will provide customers with greater innovation and choice”.

The European Union and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority approved the deal.