Nokia denies report that it’s in talks to buy $11 billion Juniper Networks (JNPR)

Nokia’s Chief Executive Rajeev SuriThomson Reuters

• Nokia says not in talks or preparing an offer “related to an acquisition” of Juniper Networks.
• Statement comes after media report that sent Juniper stock up 18%.

Nokia denied a media report that it’s in acquisition talks with Juniper Networks, a maker of communications networking gear that saw its stock surge 18% when the deal report surfaced earlier in the day.

“Nokia is not currently in talks with, nor is it preparing an offer for, Juniper Networks related to an acquisition of that company,” the company said in a statement.

Nokia noted that it does not typically comment on “market rumors” but decided to do so given the “specificity” of the Juniper reports.

CNBC reported earlier on Wednesday that Sweden’s Nokia was in talks to acquire Juniper in a deal that would value the company at around $16 billion.

Juniper’s stock gave back much of the gains following Nokia’s statement and was trading up roughly 2% in after hours trading.