HPE’s deal to buy Juniper Networks has cleared another major hurdle after the UK competition watchdog gave its approval.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has updated his case page on the deal to say it “has approved the anticipated acquisition of Juniper Networks by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.”
This means that the deal will no longer be investigated further in the UK and that its completion is one step closer.
HPE-Juniper acquisition approved in UK
The acquisition, first announced in January 2024, is expected to strengthen HPE’s position in the AI and hybrid cloud applications market by integrating Juniper’s networking solutions.
The deal will significantly expand HPE’s networking division, which also included HPE acquiring California-based Aruba Networks for $3 billion in 2015.
The Juniper deal has not gone unnoticed, however. Some have raised concerns about the reduced market options following the merger. The potential elimination of overlapping products between Juniper and Aruba could further reduce options.
The CMA says it will publish the full text of its decision shortly, but the fact that its website has been updated should mean there are no further issues.
The deal was also under EU scrutiny, but was also approved last week, with regulators saying the sector was resilient enough to withstand further competition allegations.
HPE now only needs to respond to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but if no action is taken, the deal should close in early 2025.
