French-Spanish group buys 80% of Morocco's tobacco company
Morocco-France, Business, 6/3/2003

French-Spanish group "Altadis" won on Monday the bid for the privatization of 80% of Morocco's tobacco company capital for 14.08 billion DH (about US$ 1.53 billion), finance and privatization minister, Fathallah Oualalou told MAP.

The bid made by "Altadis," a leading European tobacco manufacturer and seller, was 2.2 folds higher than the minimum price set by the body in charge of regulating the sale of the state-owned company's 5,696 million shares.

Three other leading companies had submitted bids for the takeover. The commission met on Monday in Rabat and opened the bids in public in the presence of representatives from competing companies.

The minister said he was very satisfied over the transparency of the operation which saw, for the first time in Morocco's privatization history, the biding files opened in public. The deal crowns efforts made over the last years to restructure the company and improve its competitiveness.

With 15 billion cigarettes sold annually, the Moroccan cigarettes market is one of Africa's largest behind Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria.

Altadis, which employs over 20,000 persons, is present in 35 countries. Its activities are mainly oriented to foreign markets that represent over one third of its turnover. The group is listed on the Paris and Madrid stock exchanges.

Regie Des Tabacs, which has the monopoly of cigarette making and seeling in Morocco, contributes nearly 6 billion dirhams (roughly US$ 600 mln) to the state budget annually and employs 2,400 persons. Almost 120,000 people live on cigarette selling in Morocco. The company produces 25 brands.

Some 6,500 farmers work in tobacco growing in Morocco, which stretches over 5,000 hectares.

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