Capital One Financial's planned $35 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services has crossed the finish line, closing out a 15-month marathon of regulatory scrutiny, antitrust worries and shareholder approval.
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As part of the terms of the purchase, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency required Capital One to provide the steps it plans to take when addressing Discover's outstanding enforcement actions. Capital One is also adding three new members to its board of directors, bringing the total to 15.
Fairbank was confident of the timeline during Capital One's first quarter earnings call last month, and additionally stayed the course on the $1.5 billion cost for the future Discover integration. The lone caveat with the integration forecast is that it was pushed back by roughly six months to account for delays with regulatory approvals of the deal.
"I think that Discover brings us a growth platform, both on the network side and with respect to their card franchise, that allows us to preserve the best of what they do, leverage a lot of Capital One's capabilities that we bring and build something really special," Fairbank said on the call.
Expenses tied to the deal of $110 million and legal funds amounting to $198 million were more than double the amount from the fourth quarter of 2024, and pulled down earnings by a combined 61 cents per share.
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Below is a timeline of the deal between Capital One and Discover since its 2024 announcement.
