Lafarge and Holcim are about to request approval from the European Commission for their planned merger, Lafarge Chief Executive Bruno Lafont told reporters on Thursday.

"We are indeed very close to (EU) notification," Lafont told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on affordable housing at Lafarge's headquarters in Paris. He added that talks with Brussels had been "constructive" and that the companies were "well on track" to close the deal in the first half of next year. Notifying the European Commission is a key step in getting approval to for the merger.

The companies have said they've received over 100 marks of interests for the assets but the formal bidding process has not yet started. The data room featuring detailed information on the assets to enable bidders to conduct due diligence has not yet opened but is "already well prepared," Lafont said.

Mr Lafont added that the antitrust approval process is ongoing at different speeds in the different countries where both companies are present. He still expects the merger to be effective in the first half of next year.