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U.S. regulators extended a public comment period for Capital One Financial’s (NYSE:COF) planned $35B acquisition of Discover Financial (NYSE:DFS).
The Federal Reserve Board announced it will extend the public comment period on the deal through May 31, according to a statement on Wednesday. The comments were originally due Friday. In addition, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency extended the comment period until May 31. The comments were originally due on Monday, according to a separate statement from the OCC.
The news comes as the mega credit card deal has seen criticism since it was announced in February. Earlier this month Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed concern about transaction, arguing it could result in inflated costs for consumers. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) both want regulators to block the merger.
Capital One (COF) in March told regulators its pending acquisition of Discover (DFS) will not hinder credit-card competition as the combined entity will represent some 13% of credit card purchasing volume. Capital One’s (COF) leading argument for the merger is its potential to create a viable rival to Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA), addressing lawmakers’ worries about the dominance of the two companies.
