Capital One, Discover shareholders approve $35.3B acquisition

The proposed $35.3 billion blockbuster acquisition of Discover Financial Services by Capital One Financial has been approved by each company’s shareholders, the credit card giants announced Tuesday.

Stockholders representing 85.1% of the total number of outstanding shares of Capital One common stock were in favor of the acquisition at a Tuesday meeting held in McLean. Investors representing 81.6% of the total number of outstanding shares of Discover common stock gave the transaction the OK at a separate meeting held in Illinois Tuesday.

Capital One expects the deal to close in early 2025 subject to approval by the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as customary closing conditions.

Capital One announced in December 2024 that it had received approval from the Office of the Delaware State Bank Commissioner to complete the purchase of Discover Financial Services and its subsidiary, Discover Bank, a Delaware-chartered bank.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation to determine whether the acquisition violates that state’s antitrust laws, asking in October for a state judge to subpoena Capital One for documents, Reuters reported

Both U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, spoke out about the deal after it was announced in February 2024, stating that it would hurt consumers.

A Fortune Global 500 company, Capital One had $362.7 billion in deposits and $490.1 billion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2024.