How Discover headquarters employees in Riverwoods could be impacted by Capital One merger

RIVERWOODS, Ill. (WLS) -- Capital One is buying Discover Financial Services, which is based in north suburban Riverwoods. The merger could have major impacts on the community and Discover's employees.

Under the terms of the all-stock transaction, Discover Financial shareholders will receive Capital One shares valued at nearly $140. That's a significant premium to the $110.49 that Discover shares closed at Friday.

The deal marries two of the largest credit card companies that aren't banks first, like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, with the notable exception of American Express. It also brings together two companies whose customers are largely similar: often Americans who are looking for cash back or modest travel rewards, compared to the premium credit cards dominated by AmEx, Citi and Chase.

From the outside looking in Tuesday, it appeared to be business as usual at Discover's north suburban headquarters. But this morning, executives from Capital One joined Discover CEO Michael Rhodes for a conference call to officially acknowledge the framework of a massive acquisition.

"Among American businesses, these are big players. And anytime you have these companies of this size come together, it's a significant thing," said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst for LendingTree.

READ MORE: Capital One buying Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion deal

Capital One serves more than 100 million customers. The mega-merger now gives the company access to Discover's 305 million cardholders and the mostly untapped potential of Discover's payment network.

"Discover is kind of unique in the credit card space," said Schulz. "They are also a credit card network, meaning they're the ones who help process the transaction when you swipe."

But what does the deal mean for the more than 5,000 Discover employees who call the Chicago area home? Rhodes was mostly quiet on the investor call, thanking Discover employees for their hard work and saying they intend to remain committed to Chicagoland.

"It will be interesting to see, because there will be a fair amount of overlap between these two giant companies. There's a lot of questions that will still remain to be sorted out as far as that goes," said Schulz.

Capital One executives did say they plan to keep Discover's branding, noting their loyal customer base and high consumer satisfaction. For cardholders of either company, nothing will change until the deal goes through, which could happen as soon as later this year.

Any changes in the terms of your card must be communicated 45 days in advance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.