(The Center Square) \u2013 California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Wednesday he was joining 12 other Democratic state attorneys general in intervening in a $14 billion merger between rival technology companies Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networking.<\/p>\n
The new effort follows Bonta\u2019s announcement last month that he opposed the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s settlement of the merger, which he alleged was the result of backroom deals that were not conducted with transparency and were not in the best interests of the public. He has asked the court reviewing the settlement to allow him and other state attorneys general to allow for a multi-state investigation into the merger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll really dig into what were the reasons and the rationale behind this settlement,\u201d Bonta said during a press conference Wednesday. \u201cThe U.S. DOJ brought an antitrust challenge to the proposed merger. We thought that was good, but then they settled in a way that didn\u2019t address the concerns outlined in their complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bonta also alleged in the news conference that officials from the Trump administration pushed the settlement through, despite the objections of the Department of Justice\u2019s antitrust attorneys. Bonta said they noted the settlement did not address anti-competitive harms in the government\u2019s complaint filed in the merger settlement proceedings.<\/p>\n
Two antitrust attorneys appointed during Trump\u2019s time in office were allegedly fired for their opposition to the merger, Bonta said.<\/p>\n
AG Bonta Gives Remarks, Seeks to Intervene in Allegedly Corrupt U.S. DOJ Hewlett Packard Enterprise\/Juniper Merger<\/p>\n
October 15, 2025<\/p>\n
Source: California Department of Justice<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is troubling to say the least,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cAntitrust enforcement exists to protect consumers, maintain competition and ensure fair markets, not to reward politically-connected companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
By intervening in the settlement proceedings, Bonta said he and the other state attorneys general would gain access to merger records, participate in court hearings and ask the court to pause the merger until after the proceedings are over. Without that scrutiny, competition could be harmed, businesses would have fewer choices and infrastructure costs would go up, Bonta said.<\/p>\n