Capital One-Discover May Mark M&A Resurgence: Evening Briefing

In the biggest deal of 2024 so far, Capital One agreed to buy Discover in a $35 billion all-stock deal to create the largest US credit-card company by loan volume. Now may come the hard part, however, as federal regulators scrutinize the deal for potential antitrust issues. Besides bringing together two storied consumer-finance brands, the combination would surpass rivals JPMorgan and Citigroup when it came to US credit-card loan volume. It would also give Capital One a foothold in the world of payment networks, allowing it to be less dependent on rivals Visa and Mastercard. Such a tie-up would arguably be even better for Discover, ...