State AGs Want to Intervene in HPE/Juniper Proceeding
Thirteen attorneys general have asked the U.S. District Court for Northern California to let them intervene in the proceeding on the $14 billion merger of wireless networking companies Hewlett Packard Enterprises and Juniper Networks. The companies settled with DOJ in June. “Regulators from across the political spectrum have argued that the Trump Administration’s approval of the HPE/Juniper merger is inadequate and potentially the result of backroom deals,” said California AG Rob Bonta (D) in a news release on the motion to intervene.
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Along with Bonta, the AGs of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia are involved in the motion. The states want to participate in the court's investigation of the settlement to stop the merger integration process while it evaluates the merits of the settlement, Bonta's release said. “The multistate coalition should be allowed to intervene in the matter and protect their citizens from violations of the antitrust laws, including seeking records related to the U.S. DOJ’s settlement and the process that led to it, holding hearings in open court, and obtaining a pause in integration of the merging parties pending the outcome of those proceedings.”
Americans “deserve transparency and justice, not backroom deals,” Bonta said at a news conference Wednesday. “If this merger settlement goes through without scrutiny, it could harm competition, reduce choices for businesses and drive up costs for critical technology infrastructure.”