Cisco Closes $28 Billion Splunk Deal Without Antitrust Drama

At a time when many large mergers are being blocked or delayed by regulators, Cisco Systems Inc. took just six months to close its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk.

“Hats off to our legal teams,” Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Monday after the deal’s completionwas announced. The fact that the two companies have very different businesses is a big reason the transaction didn’t attract regulatory scrutiny, he said.

Cisco announced the acquisition of data-crunching software maker Splunk in September 2023. The deal is an attempt to further diversify Cisco’s business, giving it ...