Judge Approves HPE Settlement for Juniper Networks Acquisition

U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts approved a settlement between Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and the United States Department of Justice concerning the company's 14 billion dollar acquisition of Juniper Networks Inc. The ruling rejects a challenge brought by a group of Democratic state attorneys general, led by Colorado Attorney General Philip J. Weiser.

The state attorneys general argued that the settlement was inadequate and the result of improper lobbying. While Judge Pitts acknowledged that the states performed an "invaluable public service" by exposing internal Department of Justice processes, he ruled that they failed to prove the amended final judgment was not in the public interest.

The settlement had previously allowed the acquisition to close last year. The court's decision effectively ends the legal challenge to the deal's regulatory resolution.