PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust regulators said on Monday that they had sent a statement of objection to French luxury fashion house Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers.

"The European Commission has informed Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers of its preliminary view that the companies may have breached EU antitrust rules by restricting cross-border sales of Pierre Cardin-licensed clothing, as well as sales of such products to specific customers," it said in a statement.

The EU's antitrust regulators had first opened an investigation into Pierre Cardin and Ahlers last year. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Silvia Aloisi)