In a major win for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Juniper Networks (JNPR), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently approved HPE’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper. Following the news, HPE and JNPR stocks soared 13.4% and 8.4% on Monday as the approval cleared a key regulatory hurdle that loomed over the deal since its announcement in early 2024.
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The DOJ had filed a lawsuit in January to block the merger, citing concerns that it could hurt fair competition in the wireless network space. Also, regulators were worried it might lead to less choice, higher prices, and slower innovation. However, the parties have now agreed to a deal that settles these concerns.
HPE to Shed WLAN Business
In order to close the deal, HPE has agreed to divest its “Instant On” enterprise Wi-Fi business, within 180 days after closing the Juniper deal. This includes everything tied to that business, tech, staff, patents, and customer ties. Moreover, the buyer of this business must be approved by the DOJ.
The agreement also requires HPE to help competitors by making Juniper’s AI Ops for Mist source code available through a license auction. The move is expected to help ensure continued innovation in AI-driven networking.
It must be noted that the merger will strengthen HPE’s position in the AI tech race, especially against networking giants like Cisco (CSCO). By joining Juniper’s smart Mist platform with HPE’s large customer base, the deal could speed up innovation in cloud, edge, and data center tech.
Is HPE a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, HPE stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on four Buys and five Holds assigned in the last three months. At $21.25, the average HPE stock price target implies an 1.58% upside potential.
