diff --git a/mininet/util.py b/mininet/util.py
index da55eaa..9cb1a53 100644
--- a/mininet/util.py
+++ b/mininet/util.py
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ def splitArgs( argstr ):
     args = [ makeNumeric( s ) for s in params if '=' not in s ]
     kwargs = {}
     for s in [ p for p in params if '=' in p ]:
-        key, val = s.split( '=' )
+        key, val = s.split( '=', 1 )
         kwargs[ key ] = makeNumeric( val )
     return fn, args, kwargs