The European Commission is not known for being lax when it comes to antitrust enforcement. Yet, the antitrust regulators approved the proposed merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks. A simple factor helped the commission reach that conclusion—the majority of their customers expect the deal to increase competition. The U.S. Department of Justice, however, thinks it knows better than those who deal directly with HPE and Juniper. Before Gail Slater, Trump’s selection to head the Antitrust Division, could get confirmed, department holdovers from the previous administration filed a suit to block the deal at the very end of January. This surprising decision rests on flawed thinking about the principles undergirding competition law and, more generally, a dynamic economy. Most glaringly, though, the decision clashes with an objective analysis of the vibrancy of the market in question and—incredibly—even the national security goals of the United States.

Case Summary