Nokia Throws Cold Water on Juniper Rumor

Yesterday, CNBC was pushing a rumor that Nokia was planning a buyout of Juniper Networks.  Their sources suggested that a bid of some $16B was in the works.  Juniper’s stock price has surged 10% in the last two days and was up further after hours last night, suggesting someone out there believes the rumors.

However, Nokia took the step this morning of explicitly denying it all.  According to their statement, “Nokia is not currently in talks with, nor is it preparing an offer for, Juniper Networks related to an acquisition of that company.”  Not much wiggle room there.

This is a good season for stirring the M&A rumor pot, given the usual lack of other interesting fodder between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, and this rumor was *probably* just such an event.  On the other hand, nobody seems particularly surprised by the idea that Juniper might be in play.  I wonder if that might kick off some conversations all by itself.

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Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions · Telecom Equipment