The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) from acquiring Juniper Networks Inc., citing antitrust concerns.

"HPE and Juniper are successful companies. But rather than continue to compete as rivals in the WLAN marketplace, they seek to consolidate — increasing concentration in an already concentrated market,” acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said. The DoJ further said that the $14 billion deal would "raise prices," "reduce innovation" and "diminish choice for scores of American businesses" and leave only two companies, HPE and Cisco Systems Inc. controlling over 70% of the market.

HPE announced a deal to acquire Juniper Network in January last year, saying it would "double" its networking business and help it "lead in an AI-native environment."

HPE's stock declined 3.05% to sell for $20.99 at 12:30 pm ET while Juniper Network's shares slumped 3.10%, selling for 34.05% after DoJ's announcement.