Moroccan private holding Saham, founded and owned by former Industry Minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy, is reportedly in the process of acquiring a 57% majority stake in Société Générale Maroc, a national bank owned by Société Générale group in France. According to exclusive information relayed by Moroccan newspaper Maroc Hebdo, the acquisition is estimated at 8 billion dirhams, around half of which would be paid directly by Saham. The remainder would reportedly be secured through a dedicated loan. The operation has reportedly been the subject of negotiations over several months, the same source adds. It is also reported that American-French investment bank Lazard is accompanying the operation, which resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Saham and Société Générale France. The operation remains, according to the same sources, to be approved by the national regulator Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM). For the record, another French-owned bank in Morocco, namely Credit du Maroc was sold in December 2022 by Credit Agricole to Moroccan holding Holmarcom, owned by the Bensalah family.
