London Stock Exchange Group Plc and Deutsche Börse AG received a statement of objections from the European Commission in relation to their proposed all-share merger, containing "a narrower scope of issues" compared with when the EC opened an in-depth investigation into the merger at the end of September.

European competition regulators were set to focus their investigation into the proposed merger on the effect on the derivative clearing business, the Financial Times reported Dec. 12, citing "three people familiar with the talks."

In a joint statement dated Dec. 14, the exchanges said LSE is "making good progress" on a potential sale of Paris-based clearing house LCH.Clearnet SA. The sale is viewed as a measure to help the LSE-Deutsche Börse tie-up obtain approval from European competition authorities.

The commission is due to take a final decision by March 6, 2017.