Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares are trading lower Thursday after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit to block its proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.

The challenge to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s acquisition of Juniper Networks came as many in corporate America had expected a lighter touch under a new administration.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) and Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) today responded to the filing of a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to prohibit closing of HPE’s propose

The US Department of Justice has sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion deal to acquire networking gear maker Juniper Networks, arguing that it would stifle competition, according to a complaint filed on Thursday.

The DOJ sees the proposed acquisition of AI-native network company Juniper Networks as a way for HPE to scoop up a “smaller, innovative rival,” and further consolidate a market in enterprise networking.

The Department of Justice has sued to block a merger involving Houston’s largest publicly traded software company a year after the deal was announced.

DOJ argued that the acquisition would eliminate competition and would lead to only two companies 'Cisco Systems and HPE' controlling more than 70 per cent of the US market for networking equipment

The US Justice Department sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of rival Juniper Networks on Thursday, the first attempt to stop a merger by a new Trump administration that is expected to take a softer approach to mergers.