UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 19, 2024
DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Commission File Number: 001-33378
| Delaware | 36-2517428 | |
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
2500 Lake Cook Road, Riverwoods, Illinois 60015
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(224) 405-0900
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
| ☒ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | ||
| Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | DFS | New York Stock Exchange |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 8.01. Other Events.
On February 19, 2024, Discover Financial Services, a Delaware corporation (“Discover”), and Capital One Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Capital One”), issued a joint press release announcing the execution of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 19, 2024 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Discover, Capital One, and Vega Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital One (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into Discover (the “Merger”), with Discover surviving the Merger (the “Surviving Entity”), and immediately following the Merger, the Surviving Entity will be merged with and into Capital One, with Capital One continuing as the surviving entity (the “Second Step Merger”). Promptly following the Second Step Merger, Discover Bank, a Delaware-chartered bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Discover, will merge with and into Capital One, National Association (the “Surviving Bank”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital One (the “Bank Merger”), with the Surviving Bank surviving the Bank Merger. A copy of the press release is filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.
In connection with the announcement of the Merger Agreement, Discover and Capital One intend to provide supplemental information regarding the proposed transaction in connection with presentations to analysts and investors. The slides that will be made available in connection with the presentations are attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 and are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 99.1 | Press Release, February 19, 2024. | |
| 99.2 | Investor Presentation, February 20, 2024. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File – the cover page from this Current Report on Form 8-K, formatted as Inline XBRL (included as Exhibit 101). | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Forward Looking Statements
Information in this communication, other than statements of historical facts, may constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction between Discover and Capital One, including future financial and operating results (including the anticipated impact of the transaction on Discover’s and Capital One’s respective earnings and tangible book value), statements related to the expected timing of the completion of the transaction, the combined company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “targets,” “scheduled,” “plans,” “intends,” “goal,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “estimates,” “potential,” or “continue” or negatives of such terms or other comparable terminology.
All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Discover or Capital One to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, (1) the risk that the cost savings and any revenue synergies from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer than anticipated to be realized, (2) disruption to the parties’ businesses as a result of the announcement and pendency of the transaction, (3) the risk that the integration of each party’s operations will be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected or that the parties are otherwise unable to successfully integrate as a result of unexpected factors or events, (4) the failure to obtain the necessary approvals by the stockholders of Discover or Capital One, (5) the ability by each of Discover and Capital One to obtain required governmental approvals of the transaction on the timeline expected, or
at all, and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction, (6) reputational risk and the reaction of each company’s customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners to the transaction, (7) the failure of the closing conditions in the merger agreement to be satisfied, or any unexpected delay in closing the transaction or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, (8) the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (9) risks related to management and oversight of the expanded business and operations of the combined company due to the increased size and complexity, (10) the possibility of increased scrutiny by, and/or additional regulatory requirements of, governmental authorities as a result of the transaction or the size, scope and complexity of the combined company’s business operations, (11) the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings that may be currently pending or later instituted against Capital One or Discover or the combined company before or after the transaction, and (12) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions and other factors that may affect future results of Discover and Capital One including changes in asset quality and credit risk; the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in interest rates and capital markets; inflation; customer borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices; the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; capital management activities; and other actions of the Federal Reserve Board and legislative and regulatory actions and reforms. Additional factors which could affect future results of Discover and Capital One can be found in Discover’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and Capital One’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, in each case filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Discover and Capital One disclaim any obligation and do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this communication, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by federal securities laws.
Important Information About the Transaction and Where to Find It
Capital One intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC to register the shares of Capital One’s common stock that will be issued to Discover stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement will include a joint proxy statement of Capital One and Discover that also constitutes a prospectus of Capital One. The definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to the stockholders of each of Discover and Capital One in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE (AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS) BECAUSE SUCH DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by Discover or Capital One through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting the investor relations department of Discover or Capital One at:
| Discover Financial Services | Capital One Financial Corporation | |
| 2500 Lake Cook Road | 1680 Capital One Drive | |
| Riverwoods, IL 60015 | McLean, VA 22102 | |
| Attention: Investor Relations | Attention: Investor Relations | |
investorrelations@discover.com (224) 405-4555 | investorrelations@capitalone.com (703) 720-1000 |
Before making any voting or investment decision, investors and security holders of Discover and Capital One are urged to read carefully the entire registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus when they become available, including any amendments thereto, because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described above.
Participants in Solicitation
Discover, Capital One and certain of their directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of each of Discover and Capital One in connection with the transaction. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of Discover and Capital One and other persons who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of the stockholders of Discover or of Capital One in connection with the transaction will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus related to the proposed transaction, which will be filed by Capital One with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Discover and their ownership of Discover common stock can also be found in Discover’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on March 17, 2023, and other documents subsequently filed by Discover with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Capital One and their ownership of Capital One common stock can also be found in Capital One’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on March 22, 2023, and other documents subsequently filed by Capital One with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents regarding the proposed transaction filed with the SEC when they become available.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES | ||||||
| Date: February 20, 2024 | By: | /s/ Hope D. Mehlman | ||||
| Name: | Hope D. Mehlman | |||||
| Title: | Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary | |||||
