First of all, he didn't buy it - he only owned 5% of it. More to the point, he was able to gain control of Pemrose because his aunt - who was the daughter of the founder and almost certainly controlled a big chunk of the preferred stock (which is what is used to determine who can vote for chairman and such) came onto his side. Prescott had married wealth; he didn't own it on his own. That was why he would never consider divorcing Vera - he knew that without her, he was up the creek (at least as far as Pemrose was concerned) and why he wanted to keep her happy - even enlisting Brantly to keep her happy.
The only reason Davenport was in a position to take over Pemrose was because he had intimidated Prescott and some of the other board members into agreeing with it. As soon as Brantley took over from Prescott, he realized that he no longer had the cooperation of the board and left the room. It's not a given that Brantley would succeed at taking over Davenport Enterprises - he only owns 5% and it's a proxy takeover he's planning - that is, he hopes to convince other shareholders to sell to Pemrose (which is why he has lined up three powerful moneymen - they have influence and will be able to convince other shareholders that Davenport Enterprises would be better run by Brantly and Christy than by Donald Davenport.)
I agree that not all comedies need a 'happy ending' but I do feel that this one would not have worked without one. And they did what then needed beforehand, so this does not come out of the blue - the script established the scene in the Gazebo where Brantly is clearly impressing not just Wall Street guys, but also his Aunt Vera who is watching and listening as he talks. It's also established that Prescott isn't running Pemrose very well - they are considering downsizing because they are losing money, after all. It's entirely realistic to consider that people would be looking to change leaders.
The one thing I don't like about the ending - and for me, the only weak part in the film - is Fox's acting in the boardroom scene. He's way too over the top and I think it would have worked a lot better if he had dialed that down a bit.
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