Maryland AG Joins States in Challenging DOJ Settlement Over Proposed $14 Billion Tech Merger

BALTIMORE, MD – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown is part of a coalition of state attorneys general who have voiced opposition to the U.S. Department of Justice’s proposed settlement concerning the $14 billion merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Juniper Networks. The group is urging the presiding judge to investigate the approval process, alleging it may have been improperly influenced.

In a formal public comment submitted to the Department of Justice, the coalition expressed concerns regarding the department’s resolution of the merger challenge. The attorneys general are asking the court to scrutinize the circumstances that led to the proposed final judgment, seeking to determine if the agreement was reached through undisclosed dealings, which federal law aims to prevent. The states are pushing for an evidentiary hearing and discovery into the settlement and the alleged improper process behind its approval. They argue that if evidence reveals the settlement was the result of undue influence, it should be rejected by the court as not being in the public interest. Attorney General Brown was joined in this effort by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

This legal challenge could have significant implications for the technology sector, impacting competition and consumer choice. The scrutiny by state attorneys general highlights a growing trend of state-level oversight on major corporate mergers, even those initially reviewed by federal agencies.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General.

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