Delaware Money Moves: Capital One will acquire Discover for $35B

Just in time for our monthly Money Moves, we’ve got a major banking acquisition announcement that involves two of Delaware’s big financial players.

In addition, two companies leveraging innovative future technologies are making moves, an outdated transportation hub is getting an update and Central Delaware moves forward on some important projects.

Discover acquired by Capital One

While neither Discover nor Capital One are based in Delaware (their HQs are in Illinois and Virginia, respectively), Delaware is a finance hub, and both banks have a major presence here. So the news that Capital One is acquiring Discover with a $35 billion all-stock deal is big news locally, impacting thousands of employees in the state.

Capital One announced the planned acquisition with a press release that includes the terms of the agreement. According to the announcement, Discover shareholders will receive 1.0192 Capital One shares for each Discover share, based on Discover’s closing price of $110.49 on Feb. 16, 2024. The deal is meant to build Capital One up as a largely digital banking company that can compete with the largest banks in the industry.

Capital One first became a major presence in Wilmington when it acquired ING Direct, a Dutch online bank that had built its US headquarters by renovating the 100-year-old Pennsylvania Railroad Building and other turn-of-the-20th-century properties near Wilmington’s train station. Capital One eventually sold the Pennsylvania Railroad Building to CSC, which turned it into the coworking and collaborative space CSC Station in 2019, and donated 1 S. Orange Street to Delaware State University in 2021.

Discover has also had a longtime presence in Delaware. In 2021, it committed to growth in the state with a move to a larger location at the Iron Hill Corporate Center in Newark. In 2022, it announced that it would hire 2,000 new employees nationwide, with an unspecified number to be hired in Delaware.

In its latest announcement, Capital One said it plans to scale across all of Discover’s business networks, as well as scale its own “‘Digital First’ National Bank.’ It also said that it intends to continue community development efforts.

If the deal is finalized as planned, it will go into effect by 2025.

More money moves:

• Green manufacturing company Compact Membrane Systems made a $3.1 million expansion in New Castle.
• Oklahoma-based venture capital firm Cortado Ventures invested an undisclosed amount in Wilmington gene editing startup CorriXR Therapeutics, which is enough to help the company move toward clinical trials.
• Wilmington Airport’s 60-year-old terminal is getting a $5.6 million update thanks to a Federal Aviation Administration grant.
• Capital city Dover is getting $25 million in state grants to help with projects including upgrading water infrastructure and building a new transportation center.