EC Statement: Mergers - Commission approves acquisition of Belgian insurer Nateus by Bâloise of Switzerland
( August 3, 2011, 16:00 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: The European Commission has cleared plans by insurance and pension solutions provider Bâloise to acquire Nateus, a subsidiary of insurance group Ethias. Despite of overlaps on the Belgian market for transport insurance, the commission concluded that competitors would constrain the merged entity. With the sale of its subsidiary, Ethias has fulfilled one of the conditions imposed on ot in the scope of a state aid investigation into the company's restructuring.Full statement follows.
Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Belgian insurer Nateus by Bâloise of Switzerland
Brussels, 03 August 2011 - The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of insurance company Nateus of Belgium by rival Bâloise of Switzerland.
The parties' activities overlap in particular with regard to the provision of transport insurance in Belgium. The Commission's examination showed that their combined market shares in this market were moderate and that a range of other insurance companies will competitively constrain the merged company.
As a result, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.
Bâloise is a publicly listed provider of insurance and pension solutions headquartered in Switzerland. Bâloise provides insurance and banking services in Switzerland and life and non-life insurance services in several European countries, including Belgium. Nateus is a subsidiary of the Belgian insurance group Ethias. Nateus offers life and non-life insurance in Belgium.
The merger derives from a state aid investigation into the restructuring of Ethias in the context of the financial crisis (see SA.28476) and, in particular, from Ethias’ commitment to sell its participation in the Nateus Group, as part of its restructuring plan. Today's decision under the Merger Regulation is without prejudice to the relevant state aid obligations pursuant to the state aid decision of 20 May 2011 (see IP/10/592).
The transaction was notified to the Commission on 28 June 2011....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline