ZURICH (AFX) - Axa chief executive officer Henri de Castries has not ruled out further mid-sized acquisitions in Switzerland following the French insurance group's 12.3 bln sfr takeover of Credit Suisse's Winterthur unit in mid-June.

Asked by Neue Zuercher Zeitung whether the group will continue buying mid-sized players in Switzerland, Castries replied: 'We will see.'

Asked where he sees further potential takeover candidates in Europe, he said: 'Three months ago I did not know yet that we were going to purchase Winterthur. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. The only thing that is clear to me is where we want to grow, namely in the US, Europe or Asia.'

Axa's acquisition of Winterthur has fuelled speculation that other smaller insurers including Swiss Life and Baloise Holding AG might be potential takeover targets, boosting insurers' share prices.

Thanks to the acquisition, Axa will see an increase of 7 pct in EPS from 2008. 'There aren't many acquisitions that are that profitable,' Castries said.

However, he did not rule out further job cuts: 'We will probably have to cut jobs again in Germany, at least for the time being'.

Axa estimates cost synergies from the deal at 440 mln sfr (280 mln eur) before tax by end-2008.

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