The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a phase 1 investigation into HPE’s planned $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.
The initial investigation will run until August 14, when the regulatory body will decide whether to launch a formal phase 2 inquiry. At present, the CMA is inviting comments on the transaction from interested parties, to be submitted before July 3.
In a statement, the CMA said it was investigating “whether it is or may be the case that this transaction, if carried into effect… that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”
HPE confirmed the proposed all-cash transaction in January 2024, with the acquisition having already been approved by the boards of both companies. If given regulatory approval, it could potentially double HPE’s networking business and “create a new networking leader with a comprehensive portfolio,” according to the companies.
Financing for the deal will include a combination of new debt, mandatory convertible preferred securities, and cash on the balance sheet.
Founded in 1996 and based in Sunnyvale, California, NYSE-listed Juniper provides networking products, including routers, switches, network management software, network security products, and software-defined networking (SDN) technology.
HPE offers switches via its Aruba Networks unit – acquired in 2015 just prior to Hewlett Packard's split into two companies.
Since it was broken off from HP in 2015, HPE’s acquisitions include SGI, Cray, SimpliVity, and Nimble Storage. The Aruba purchase is HPE’s largest deal since becoming a standalone company by a wide margin and one of the largest in HP’s long history.
