Capital One announced on Thursday afternoon (22) the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Brex, in a transaction valued at US$5.15 billion. Payment will be made in equal parts between shares and cash.
Founded in 2017 by Brazilians Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras, Brex is a software platform with native artificial intelligence aimed at corporate finance solutions. The company offers corporate cards, expense management automation and real-time payments, brought together in a single integrated platform.
According to Capital One, the acquisition reinforces the expansion strategy in the corporate payments market. “Since our founding, we have set out to build a payments company on the frontier of the technological revolution. Acquiring Brex accelerates that journey, especially in the business payments market,” said Richard D. Fairbank, founder, chairman and CEO of Capital One, in a statement.
Opportunity with security!
Pedro Franceschi will remain CEO of Brex after the transaction is completed. “We started Brex as a category creator, uniting financial services and software in an AI-native platform. Now, we’re going to supercharge our next chapter in partnership with the Capital One team,” said the executive in a statement. Henrique Dubugras had already left the day-to-day operation and remains a shareholder and member of the board.
Brex currently serves around 30 thousand companies and, in October 2021, when it raised US$300 million. Throughout its history, the startup received contributions from funds such as Tiger Global, Y Combinator, GIC and Ribbit Capital, as well as investors such as Peter Thiel. In recent months, the company announced obtaining a license to operate in the European market, from the Netherlands, and plans to seek specific authorization in the United Kingdom.
Capital One has a market value of approximately US$150 billion and ended 2025 with US$475.8 billion in deposits and US$669 billion in total assets. The institution operates in the credit card, retail banking and commercial banking segments, with a presence in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The transaction is expected to be completed in mid-2026, subject to customary closing conditions. BofA Securities acted as financial advisor to Capital One, with legal advice from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Brex received financial advice from Centerview Partners and legal support from offices in the United States.
