Axa SA, Europe’s second-largest insurer, secured European antitrust approval for its € 7.9 billion ($10 billion) purchase of Credit Suisse Group‘s Winterthur insurance unit. The European Commission in Brussels said the only markets with a significant overlap were non-life insurance in Belgium, where the barriers to entry aren’t significant, and motor insurance in Luxembourg, where there are „strong competitors.” Axa is buying Winterthur to expand in Europe and increase its presence in central and eastern Europe and Asia, the Paris-based company said in June when it announced the transaction. (Bloomberg)