As previously disclosed, Discover Financial Services, a Delaware corporation (“Discover”) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of February 19, 2024, with Capital One Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Capital One”) and Vega Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Capital One (“Merger Sub”). The Merger Agreement provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, (a) Merger Sub will merge with and into Discover (the “Merger”), with Discover continuing as the surviving corporation in the Merger; (b) immediately following the Merger, Discover, as the surviving entity, will merge with and into Capital One (the “Second Step Merger” and together with the Merger, the “Mergers”), with Capital One continuing as the surviving corporation in the Second Step Merger; and (c) immediately following the Second Step Merger, Discover Bank, a wholly-owned Delaware-chartered bank subsidiary of Discover, will merge with and into Capital One’s wholly owned national bank subsidiary, Capital One National Association (the “Bank Merger” and together with the Merger and the Second Step Merger, the “Transaction”), with Capital One National Association continuing as the surviving entity in the Bank Merger. The Merger Agreement was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each of Discover and Capital One.
In connection with the proposed Mergers, Capital One filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 containing a joint proxy statement/prospectus, as amended, and filed a definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus with the SEC dated January 6, 2025 (the “joint proxy statement/prospectus”), which Capital One and Discover first mailed to their respective stockholders on or about January 6, 2025.
Each of Discover and Capital One will hold a special meeting of stockholders on February 18, 2025 to consider certain proposals related to the Merger Agreement as further described in the joint proxy statement/prospectus (the “Special Meetings”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, subject to the receipt of the requisite stockholder approvals at the Special Meetings, and as a result of the closing conditions related to the requisite regulatory approvals not yet having been satisfied, the outside date under the Merger Agreement will be automatically extended to May 19, 2025.
Litigation Related to the Mergers
Following the announcement of the Merger Agreement, as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, three lawsuits challenging the Mergers have been filed (each, a “Lawsuit” and, collectively, the “Lawsuits”). The first Lawsuit, captioned Siegel v. Duncan et al. (No. 2025CH00000020), was filed in Illinois Circuit Court on January 27, 2025. The second Lawsuit, Stone v. Discover Financial Services et al. (No. 650327/2025) was filed in New York Superior Court on January 29, 2025. The third Lawsuit, Collins v. Discover Financial Services et al. (No. 650550/2025) was filed in New York Superior Court on January 29, 2025. In addition, Discover and Capital One have received demand letters from counsel representing purported stockholders of Discover or Capital One, respectively (the “Demand Letters” and, together with the Lawsuits, the “Matters”). The Matters each allege that, among other things, the joint proxy statement/prospectus contains certain disclosure deficiencies and/or incomplete information regarding the Mergers.
Discover and Capital One believe that the claims asserted in the Matters are without merit and supplemental disclosures are not required or necessary under applicable laws. However, in order to avoid the risk that the Matters delay or otherwise adversely affect the Mergers, and to minimize the costs, risks and uncertainties inherent in litigation, and without admitting any liability or wrongdoing, Discover and Capital One are supplementing the joint proxy statement/prospectus as described in this Current Report on Form 8-K. Nothing in this Current Report on Form 8-K shall be deemed an admission of the legal necessity or materiality under applicable laws of any of the disclosures set forth herein. To the contrary, Discover and Capital One specifically deny all allegations in the Matters that any additional disclosure was or is required.
Supplemental Disclosures to Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus
The additional disclosures (the “supplemental disclosures”) in this Current Report on Form 8-K supplement the disclosures contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the disclosures contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus, which should be read in its entirety. To the extent that
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