We'll answer any questions DoJ has, HPE CEO tells us as Feds probe $14B Juniper buy
Takeover still expected to close late 2024 or early next year
HPE CEO Antonio Neri told The Register today his corporation is working with the US Department of Justice to “answer any questions” officials may have about the IT infrastructure giant's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.
Talking at the HPE Discover EMEA conference in Barcelona, the bossman said HPE is still aiming to complete the purchase late this year or early in 2025. “We believe we’re still under those timelines,” he added.
Earlier this month, reps for HPE and Juniper reportedly met staff at the Justice Department to persuade prosecutors not to derail the multi-billion dollar takeover on the grounds it may harm competition.
The Feds are said to have voiced antitrust concerns to the two tech organizations; no final decision on filing a lawsuit to freeze or kill the takeover has yet been made.
HPE and Juniper may be asked to make concessions to get the mega-merger over the line, or may choose to delay proceedings until President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at the start of 2025 as he and his team may view the commercial marriage more favorably.
The UK, the European Union, and India have waved through the transaction already. Asked about Feds' interest in the takeover, Neri told us:
We're working with any regulator to answer field questions. There is a process, and you know, we have to work through that process.
But beyond that, it gives me no cause for concern to get this transaction done. It may take an extra few weeks, but fundamentally, we have a very collaborative process at this point in time.
Neri also acknowledged there had been a presidential election in the United States – one, as we noted, may halt any DoJ action taken regarding the merger, given the upheaval that's expected there with the proposed incoming Attorney General. That said, a Trump-era Justice Dept may bring the hammer down on Big Tech, so there's uncertainty there.
In any case, Neri was on stage at the Discover event with Juniper CEO Rami Rahim, to demonstrate they considered the takeover was going as planned. “Otherwise, why else would we do that?” the HPE boss said.
In September HPE turned to investors to raise upward of $1 billion to help fund the acquisition, which we first learned of in January.
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Should the sale be approved, Rahim is expected to take charge of HPE-Juniper's combined networking division. As we've pointed out previously, there is some overlap in the portfolios, though it is unlikely any products will be phased out for some years. It's either that, or throw a load of disruption at customers too soon.
The crown jewels that attracted HPE include Juniper's Mist wireless LAN and switching product, which comes loaded with chatbots and AIOps features designed to potentially help admins proactively identify and rectify network anomalies. ®