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In Asia, Australian bourse operator ASX and suitor Singapore Exchange revised the board structure of their planned $7.9 billion tie-up in an attempt to win the support of Australian lawmakers wary of ceding control of the local bourse.

Nationalism is one of the biggest hurdles to the consolidation sweeping the industry as exchanges are often seen as symbols of national pride. The deals, including a bid by the London Stock Exchange to take over Toronto Stock Exchange operator TMX Group, face intense scrutiny from regulators and politicians around the world.

A number of key details in the Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext merger have been hammered out, sources said. A definitive agreement is expected to be announced on Tuesday, one source said.

But a number of difficult issues have yet to be addressed, which is likely to add to concerns being raised on both sides of the Atlantic.

Political concerns are also seen as the driver behind the SGX giving more board representation to ASX in the combined entity. The bourses said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the two will have equal number of directors in the merged group, compared with less than half for ASX in the earlier proposal.

"All the resistance to the deal has been political. The steps taken today should address some of those political issues," said Mark Nathan, portfolio manager at Arnhem Investments. "It clearly carves out and maintains some sovereignty within Australia, and there should be a lot less resistance to the deal in its new form."

There is no change to the value of the SGX offer and ASX shareholders will still hold about 36 percent of the company under the new proposal.

WHO NEXT?

Some issues facing the Deutsche Boerse-NYSE Euronext tie-up, which could still derail the plan, would need to be resolved over the coming weeks, said the sources, who requested anonymity because talks continue.

"The biggest question mark in general is obviously the European political and regulatory landscape coming out of this," one source said.

The Frankfurt- and New York-based companies were center stage in the merger frenzy that erupted last week and heated up on Monday as Brazil's BM&FBovespa said it was eyeing its own prospects and as traders buzzed that CME Group could jump into the fray.

Fox Business Network reported that CME Group, currently the world's top derivatives exchange group, may make a hostile bid for NYSE Euronext, citing bankers.

A spokesman for Chicago-based CME declined to comment. CME officials have been guiding investors away from expectations that the company would do a merger deal.

BM&FBovespa, the world's fourth-largest financial exchange operator, is closely looking out for tie-up opportunities, Chief Executive Edemir Pinto told Reuters. Pinto said China and India were markets where the bourse could pursue expansion.