21 November 2008 - Gide Loyrette Nouel Paris, legal counsel to the Republic of Mali
on the sale of a strategic stake in BIM SA to Attijariwafa Bank:

The Republic of Mali and Attijariwafa Bank have closed a transaction leading up to the sale of a strategic stake in the capital of the Banque Internationale pour le Mali (BIM SA) to Attijariwafa Bank. 

This sale of 51% of the shares and voting rights in BIM SA is the outcome of a tendering procedure of which the Moroccan bank, Attijariwafa Bank, was adjudicated the winner in July 2008. The exchange of the transfer documents on 6 November 2008 marked the end of a process which is an illustration of the financial sector privatisation policy implemented by the Mali government through its Financial Sector Development Project.  

The President of the Republic of Mali, His Excellency Amadou Toumani Touré, was entirely satisfied with the transaction and expressed his pride "in seeing that [the Republic of Mali] has been able to honour a commitment to its financial partners and especially that the procedure adopted has been methodical and transparent".  

Gide Loyrette Nouel (François Krotoff, Leïla Hubeaut and Romain Régulaire) advised the Republic of Mali throughout the privatisation process. François Krotoff heads a legal team that is very active on the African continent, acting principally in project finance transactions and privatisations but also with a close involvement in the mining, oil and gas industries.