Capital One to Acquire Discover in $35B Deal, Forging Credit Card Giant
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Capital One is acquiring Discover Financial in a $35.3B all-stock deal to create a credit card giant and gain Discover's payments network.
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The combined company would be the largest U.S. credit card issuer with 20% market share of outstanding consumer loans.
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Capital One expects $1.2B in network synergies and $1.5B in cost synergies from the merger.
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The deal will face intense antitrust scrutiny from regulators given its size and the DOJ's tougher stance on bank mergers.
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It's the biggest credit card acquisition ever, surpassing BofA's purchase of MBNA in 2005 for $35.19B.