HPE to Acquire Juniper Networks to Accelerate AI-Driven Innovation

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Juniper Networks, a leader in AI-native networks, announced that the companies have entered a definitive agreement under which HPE will acquire Juniper in an all-cash transaction for $40.00 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $14 billion. The combination of HPE and Juniper is designed to shift HPE’s portfolio mix toward higher-growth solutions and strengthen its high-margin networking business, accelerating HPE’s sustainable profitable growth strategy and doubling their networking business.

The explosion of AI and hybrid cloud-driven business is accelerating demand for secure, unified technology solutions that connect, protect, and analyze companies’ data from edge to cloud. HPE believes that these trends, and AI specifically, will continue to be the most disruptive workloads for companies, and has been aligning its portfolio to capitalize on these substantial IT trends with networking as a critical connective component. Combining HPE and Juniper’s complementary portfolios is intended to supercharge HPE’s edge-to-cloud strategy and provide the ability to lead in an AI-native environment based on a foundational cloud-native architecture.

Through its suite of cloud-delivered networking solutions, software, and services, including the Mist AI and Cloud platform, Juniper helps organizations securely and efficiently access the mission-critical cloud infrastructure that serves as the foundation of digital and AI strategies. The combination with HPE Aruba Networking and HPE AI interconnect fabric is intended to bring together enterprise reach and cloud-native and AI-native management and control to accelerate innovation and deliver further modernized networking optimized for hybrid cloud and AI. Juniper is also intended to accelerate HPE’s strategic evolution and expand its total addressable market by increasing the scope of HPE’s networking business through expansion into adjacent segments, such as data center networking, firewalls, and routers, while increasing Juniper’s footprint in data centers and cloud providers.

The combined entity intends to leverage its complementary capabilities to deliver next-generation AI-native networking and enable new digital experiences through secure, intelligent connectivity. Networking will become the new core business and architecture foundation for HPE’s Hybrid Cloud and AI solutions delivered through the HPE GreenLake hybrid cloud platform.