Trump DOJ Should Reevaluate HPE’s Acquisition of Juniper: A Case for Competition and National Security

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to challenge Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks is misguided and threatens innovation and U.S. competitiveness.  Gail Slater, the newly confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, should reconsider this decision and assess its broader implications for competition, innovation, and national interests.

Facing a tight deadline before Slater’s confirmation, the DOJ filed suit to block the deal arguing it would harm competition in the enterprise-grade wireless local area network (WLAN) market.  While the DOJ’s intent to protect customers is a worthy goal, its case rests on a flawed premise, resting on a narrow view of the market that ignores robust competition and the broader strategic imperatives at play. Far from stifling innovation or choice, this acquisition would strengthen a key American player to rival Cisco domestically and, critically, counter Huawei globally.  For those reasons, DOJ’s litigation stance should be reconsidered.

Flawed Antitrust Concerns

The DOJ’s claim that the merger would overly concentrate the enterprise-grade WLAN market misreads the competitive landscape. The complaint paints HPE and Juniper as the second- and third-largest players behind market leader, Cisco, alleging their combination would leave just two firms controlling over 70% of enterprise-grade WLAN solutions. This analysis oversimplifies the competitive dynamics of the industry.

First, the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which both cleared the merger in 2024 after determining it posed no realistic threat to competition, confirm that the transaction does not raise competition concerns. In addition, the Biden Administration could have sued to block the merger but chose not to do so.

Second, the product market definition alleged by the DOJ is much too narrow.  Even the UK’s CMA did not find any functional or technical differences between WLAN products sold to large or smaller enterprises.

Third, the WLAN market is not a cozy oligopoly but a battleground where multiple players are vying for share. Cisco is more than twice as large as a combined HPE-Juniper with over 50% share for the past ten years.  Indeed, Juniper’s share is in the single digits and the combined firm’s share is less than 25%.  Companies like Extreme Networks, Arista, Fortinet, CommScope, and Ubiquiti, which make up approximately 25-30% of the DOJ’s narrowly defined market, have the technological muscle to reposition themselves, scale, expand, and rapidly grow share. Extreme Networks, for instance, powers WLAN for major enterprises like Kroger and universities, delivering secure, high-performance networks that rival those of HPE and Juniper. These firms are well-capitalized with proven deployments and R&D pipelines poised to exploit any opportunity. If HPE-Juniper raises prices or slacks on innovation, these competitors are ready to provide real choice to large enterprises including hospitals, campuses, and retailers.

Fourth, the DOJ’s focus on market share also ignores how enterprise WLAN works in practice. Large customers routinely solicit bids from multiple vendors, pitting solutions against one another in competitive request for proposals. This process keeps pricing in check and forces innovation, regardless of who merges with whom.  Juniper’s Mist platform and HPE’s Aruba have indeed competed head-to-head, but so have they with Cisco, Extreme, and others.

Fifth, the DOJ’s complaint includes a litany of inflammatory quotes from HPE’s executives’ documents, but not one deal document was cited. Notwithstanding their provocative nature, these statements have little grounding in the reality of competition.  Documents only matter if they are reliably predictive and relevant. The selective quoting of internal documents may suggest head-to-head competition, but any suggestion that the documents demonstrate that the merger would harm competition contradicts reality.  In reality, customers of HPE and Juniper may choose between the two companies as well as an entire host of alternatives including Cisco, Extreme Networks, Fortinet, and Arista.  The idea that merging HPE and Juniper would suddenly let them dictate terms overlooks the technological strength of the competitors and the bidding process. If anything, combining HPE’s scale with Juniper’s AI-driven tools could drive sharper pricing and faster feature rollouts to fend off these hungry rivals.

Finally, the DOJ is challenging this acquisition in the same district court where it lost its challenge to Oracle’s acquisition of Peoplesoft in 2014 because evidence that Oracle and PeopleSoft competed aggressively against each other was not enough to prove anticompetitive effects and that they competed in a three firm market was too narrow.

National Security and Global Competitiveness

The DOJ’s case overlooks the significant national security stakes involved in this merger. Huawei, the Chinese tech giant banned in the United States over espionage concerns since 2019, continues to dominate global telecom infrastructure markets with state-backed pricing strategies. HPE CEO Antonio Neri has framed this acquisition as essential to creating a robust U.S.-based alternative to Huawei.  A stronger HPE-Juniper would create a number-two player with the muscle to challenge Cisco at home while taking the fight to Huawei in global markets. The deal would create a “full stack” U.S. alternative to Huawei, combining HPE’s servers, storage, and Aruba networking with Juniper’s AI-native routing and telco expertise.  Integrating AI, security, and networking is a procompetitive move that bolsters national security by offering a robust Western option for global telcos and enterprises in AI driven and 6G markets. Without this deal, the U.S. risks ceding ground to Huawei, especially in emerging markets where 6G and IoT are reshaping connectivity.  Moreover, HPE and Juniper power critical U.S. infrastructure by supporting the Department of Defense and Department of Energy making the combination a matter of “core tech” that strengthens America’s technological sovereignty.

Unlocking Innovation

HPE and Juniper bring complementary strengths that could unlock significant efficiencies post-merger. HPE’s expertise in cloud computing and hybrid IT solutions pairs seamlessly with Juniper’s AI-native networking tools. Together, they could deliver unified platforms that simplify IT management for enterprises while accelerating advancements in AI-driven infrastructure. These aren’t abstract savings; they’re the kind of edge U.S. firms need to outpace Huawei’s one-stop-shop model.

A Call for Reevaluation

Blocking this merger risks weakening a U.S.-based champion at a time when global tech leadership and national security are at stake.  Slater should use her fresh perspective to reevaluate this litigation with an eye toward getting the antitrust analysis right and balancing competition policy with broader strategic imperatives. Blocking HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks is counterproductive because it risks reinforcing Cisco’s dominance, undermining U.S. competitiveness against global rivals, and stifling innovation. Slater should reconsider the DOJ’s litigation decision to ensure that antitrust enforcement facilitates not hinders the ingenuity of American companies.  Importantly, the acquisition does not substantially lessen competition because Extreme Networks and others are ready to fill any void for those customers looking for another source of enterprise grade WLAN products.  In conclusion, the DOJ should let this deal proceed for the sake of innovation, competition, and national security.

Andre Barlow

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