Axa, the French insurer, is buying Swiss rival Winterthur from Credit Suisse in a cash deal worth €7.9bn ($10bn).

The French insurer will pay 11.6 times Winterthur's 2005 net income. It is financing the transaction through a €4.1bn capital increase and €4.8bn of debt, of which €700m is a loan to be repaid to Credit Suisse.