Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the US banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
US lender Capital One is nearing a deal to buy rival Discover Financial, according to a person familiar with the matter, in a tie-up that would unite two of America’s largest credit card companies.
A deal between Capital One and Discover, which has a market value of almost $28bn, could be announced as early as Tuesday, the person said, cautioning that talks might still collapse.
Capital One and Discover did not immediately respond to requests for comment. News of the talks was first reported by Bloomberg earlier on Monday.
A merger between Virginia-based Capital One and Illinois-based Discover would shake up the US credit card landscape and mark one of the industry’s biggest deals since the 2008 financial crisis.
Capital One and Discover are two of the biggest US credit card lenders, behind JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.
The last big merger between two banks occurred almost five years ago when regional lender BB&T combined with SunTrust for about $28bn to form Truist.
Consolidation in the highly fragmented US banking sector has long been expected but several large players have struggled to successfully integrate and capture the synergies hoped for when two rivals combine.
Capital One, known in America for its “What’s in your wallet?” slogan delivered by celebrities such as Samuel L Jackson and Jennifer Garner, is the 12th-biggest US bank by assets.
It was one of several lenders that came under pressure following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March last year.
Its stock has since recovered, boosted in part by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway taking an almost $1bn stake.
Read the full article here
