There is an ‘advanced’ deal between HPE and Juniper Networks for $13B, according to a report

In an era where AI-powered networking is a top priority, HPE is reportedly closing on a $13 billion deal to acquire rival networking giant Juniper Networks.

According to a Wall Street Journal article published Monday night, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is in advanced talks to acquire networking heavyweight Juniper Networks in a deal that might be valued at over $13 billion.

If talks remain positive, The Journal, which cited people with knowledge of the situation, stated that the two businesses’ agreement might be revealed as early as this week.

According to an HPE representative, it is company policy to remain silent on market speculation or rumors.

Before it was time for publishing, Juniper Networks, whose market value as of Monday was $9.64 billion as opposed to HPE’s $23 billion, did not reply to a request from CRN for comment on the reported deal.

Thanks to the company’s transformation around software and the introduction of artificial intelligence into more areas of the network, Sunnyvale, California-based Juniper Networks, whose strength has historically been with the service provider segment, has more recently seen its enterprise networking business outpace its dominant service provider segment. The company is currently in the lead with its AI-driven Juniper Mist platform, which takes on the Edge Services Platform (ESP) from HPE Aruba and Cisco Meraki.

With its recent explosive growth, HPE has emerged as a wired and wireless networking powerhouse. After paying $3 billion to acquire wireless expert Aruba Networks (now HPE Aruba Networking) in 2015, the company was better positioned to take on Cisco Systems.

In an effort to refocus around its “long-term growth opportunities,” Juniper Networks said in October that it was implementing a $59 million restructuring plan along with a round of layoffs around the globe.

The stock of Juniper increased by around 22% to $36.98 during Monday night’s after-hours trading. At $16.36, HPE’s shares had dropped by around 7.67 percent.