A French subsidiary of Helvetia insurance group has received European Commission approval for the acquisition of Gan Eurocourtage's marine and transport insurance contracts (excluding aviation and space) and related brokerage businesses, assets and liabilities.
The Commission, which cleared the aforesaid proposal under the EU Merger Regulation, concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns as it would not significantly change the market structure.
While giving its nod, the Commission scrutinized the competitive effects of the proposed acquisition on the production, underwriting and distribution of marine hull insurance for sea-going vessels and inland crafts and for transport liability insurance in France.
The regulator found that France is the only nation in the European Economic Area (EEA) where the firms' have a combined market share above 15%.
Considering the comparatively low collective market shares of the parties and the presence of numerous strong and credible competitors, the Commission decided that the transaction would not raise competition concerns.
The Helvetia Group is a pan-European underwriting firm, which offers life, property and casualty and reinsurance business and trades in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and France.