The European Commission has approved the acquisition of the Belgian insurance company, Nateus by Swiss insurer Baloise.
The watchdog said that the deal will not significantly pose effective competition problems in the European Economic Area (EEA) as per the EU Merger Regulation.
The acquisition stems from Ethias’, parent company of Nateus, commitment to sell its participation in the firm, as part of its restructuring process post financial crisis.
The merger investigation, conducted by the commission, revealed that both firms provided similar insurance services especially transport insurance in Belgium and held moderate combined market shares.
Baloise provides insurance and banking services in Switzerland and life and non-life insurance services in several European countries, while Nateus offers life and non-life insurance in Belgium.i