Our Casablanca office brings together Moroccan and French law practitioners alike, and is today one of the only firms in the country to offer legal assistance that covers the various fields of Moroccan and international finance and business law.

Our teams assist our clients, be they international institutions, public bodies, banks, foreign investors or leading Moroccan business groups, on the legal and tax aspects of their investments and their commercial and financial operations.

Main areas of expertise:

• Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate Law
• Real Estate               
• Banking & Finance  
• Projects (Finance & Infrastructure)       
• Tax                       
• Competition & International Trade      
• Employment                 
• Public & Administrative Law           
• Insurance, Industrial Risk & Transport       
• Arbitration              
• Intellectual Property, Telecommunications, Media & Technology          

Gide Cuatrecasas Casablanca stands out for ‘its knowledge of local and international law, its client-oriented services and its timely turnaround’.
Legal 500 EMEA 2017

Recent experience includes:

• Advising Renault Trucks on the divestment of its Moroccan subsidiary Renault Trucks Maroc.
   
• Advising Chariot Oil & Gas Limited on the farmout of a 40% equity interest in six exploration permits in Morocco.
   
• Advising Onomo Hotels (Batipart group) on its various real estate and hospitality projects in Africa (Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Mozambique, etc.): acquisition of hotels / plots of land, hotel construction, etc.
   
• Advising SDX Energy on the acquisition of Circle Oil’s assets in Morocco. Circle Oil held certain gas operating concessions located in the Gharb basin (Morocco).
   
• Advising Groupe Palmeraie Développement on real estate and hospitality projects in Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon. It is one of the first real estate Sub-Saharan transactions involving Moroccan players.
   
• Advising Aabar Investments on the setting-up of Wessal Capital and its first investments in Casablanca and Rabat: in October 2014, Wessal Capital was named “2014 Sovereign Wealth Fund Deal of the Year” by World Finance, due to its unique collaborative model and the scale of its developmental impact, and "2014 Social Deal of the Year" (Press release for more information)
   
• Advising Groupe Palmeraie Développement on the divestment / restructuring of a substantial portion of its hospitality business and assets: setting up a joint venture with Aabar Investment PJS, transferring the ownership of the real estate assets and associated businesses to the JV, etc.
   
• Advising Wendel on its acquisition of a 100 million-euro stake in Saham Group.
   
• Advising Veolia on the sale of its water and electricity activities in Morocco.
   
• Advising the Moroccan government on reviewing the existing Moroccan mining code and drafting a new version.
   
• Advising Medi Telecom (second telephone operator in Morocco) on refinancing its local debt, amounting of EUR 450 million.

A highly respected practice with excellent activity in M&A transactions, PPP financing and private equity matters. The team advised Total on listing the shares of Total Maroc, worth EUR67 million, on the Casablanca stock exchange. One source said: 'The service is good, timely and responsive,' and another added: 'The lawyers are clear in their explanations and approach.' The group has further expertise in oil and gas, real estate, mining and competition matters.
Chambers Global 2017

In 2014, Gide Loyrette Nouel and Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's respective Casablanca offices merged. The practice enjoys a high degree of visibility in the Moroccan legal market for its involvement in significant transactions including numerous mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and share sales, as well as major project financings.
Chambers Global 2016

Gide Cuatrecasas Casablanca is ‘a very good choice for land acquisitions and real estate development’. Office head and real estate specialist Jean-François Levraud advises Foncière Chellah on its day-to-day real estate matters, including office and retail lease agreements for the Arribat Center as well as the Mahaj Ryad Center in Rabat. Along with associate Youssef Benamar and Loris Marghieri, Levraud also assisted Onomo Hotels with land purchases.
Legal 500 EMEA 2017