Court Approves HPE-Juniper Merger Settlement Over State AG Opposition
In-house counsel for merging parties facing DOJ antitrust challenges must note that court-approved settlements with targeted divestitures can overcome state AG opposition under the Tunney Act, even with low market shares at issue.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved the settlement between HPE and the DOJ regarding HPE’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, rejecting a challenge from a coalition of state attorneys general who sought to block the deal. The settlement requires HPE to divest its Instant On wireless networking business and license AI-driven WLAN management source code to a competitor. The court found the remedies sufficient to address competitive concerns, citing the risk of DOJ losing at trial due to low combined market shares and the potential for the divested assets to support new market entrants. The ruling underscores that Tunney Act settlements can withstand state AG intervention when the proposed relief is tailored to preserve competition in the relevant market.