The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) from acquiring Juniper Networks, arguing that the merger between the nation’s second- and third-largest

U.S. government regulators sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of rival Juniper Networks on Thursday, saying the combination would eliminate competition, raise prices and reduce innovation.

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 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 US Justice Department sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks Inc., arguing the tie-up would harm competition in the market for enterprise wireless equipment used by large companies,

The DOJ contends the merged company would result in two companies — Cisco and HPE — controlling more than 70% of the U.S. wireless networking market.

HPE announced plans to acquire Juniper last January. The latter company, one of the world’s top network equipment suppliers, makes switches and routers for data centers. It also competes in the WLAN market,