There were rumblings last week about a possible acquisition of Aruba Networks, and despite speculation that talks could still fall through, the final word came today: HP is acquiring Aruba for a cool $2.7 billion. The agreement is expected to close in the second half of HP's fiscal year, which ends in October.

Aruba Networks CEO Dominic Orr and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Keerti Melkote will report to the HP Enterprise Group. The deal will bridge Aruba Networks' wireless mobility products with HP's experience in wired switching, moving toward an accelerated enterprise effort to the converged campus network.

This acquisition is the largest for HP since the 2011 snafu of acquiring software company Autonomy for $11 billion, which was followed by a U.S. Justice Department inquiry and accusations of accounting fraud on Autonomy's part. With mention of HP dividing itself later this year, it will be important to keep an eye on what a billion-dollar deal could mean for the future of the networking side of things.

In afternoon trading, HP shares were down 1.6 percent at $65.97, while Aruba shares were down 1.3 percent at $24.51.