The purchase of Discover ranks as the world’s biggest merger this year, surpassing Synopsys Inc.’s roughly US$34 billion acquisition of software developer Ansys Inc. announced in January. It will bring together two storied consumer-finance brands, a combination that will surpass rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. by US credit-card loan volume, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. The deal will also give Capital One a foundation in the world of payment networks.
Capital One Financial Corp. agreed to buy Discover Financial Services in a US$35 billion ($47.13 billion) all-stock deal to create the largest US credit-card company by loan volume, giving the combined entity a stronger foothold to compete with Wall Street’s behemoths.
Capital One will swap 1.0192 of its own shares for each Discover share, a 26.6% premium over the Feb 16 closing price, the McLean, Virginia-based company said in a statement. The transaction, first reported by Bloomberg News, is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2025, assuming it can pass antitrust reviews and win shareholder approvals.
