Bennani & Associés > Casablanca, Morocco > Firm Profile
Bennani & Associés Offices
OCEANE 3 TOWER – SUITE n°B5 – 1ST FLOOR
SIDI MOHAMED BEN ABDELLAHAvenue
MARINA CASABLANCA 20030
Morocco
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Bennani & Associés > The Legal 500 Rankings
Morocco > Dispute resolution Tier 1
The team at Bennani & Associésis noted for its broad expertise which spans the full spectrum of disputes. The group frequently acts in litigation and arbitration, and often engages in alternative dispute resolution for major multinational companies and law firms across Morocco and the broader North African region. Abdellah Moustaid leads the practice, having recently handled a range of high-profile antitrust matters in the telecommunications industry. Promoted to partner in June 2023, Mahdi Yamnahaddou routinely appears before both commercial and labour courts, having recently acted for Daewoo Engineering & Construction in enforcement procedures relating to the construction of power plant projects. Nihma El Gachbour is noted for her vast knowledge of compensation claims and enforcement actions.Practice head(s):
Abdellah Moustaid
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Mahdi Bennani and his team stand out in the African market for being both excellent on substance and very responsive. They are also much more entrepreneurial and business-minded than their local competitors.’
‘Good technical level and good customer service. They are far superior to the usual legal service in Morocco.’
‘Bennani & Associés have been assisting us with several Moroccan dispute matters over the past two years, and they are great.’
Key clients
Adidas
Carlyle
Casatram SA
Dell Group
Itissalat Al Maghrib
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Morocco
Samsung Construction & Trading Corporation
TUI Fly
Compagnie Privée Véroche
Crimidesa Maroc S.A
Daewoo Engineering & Construction
Imkan Maroc
Iqvia Maroc
Lanco Maroc
Middle East Radio Television Morocco
Motion Picture Association
Nurol Insaat ve Ticaret A.S.
Pilot Freight Services
SPT
ST Microelectronics SA Morocco
Total Wind Maroc
Work highlights
- Representing Itissalat Al Maghrib before the Moroccan Commercial Court of Rabat in a litigation initiated by another telecoms operator, WANA, seeking €600m in compensation for alleged anti-competitive practices.
- Representing Itissalat Al Maghrib before the Appellate Court of Rabat in an appeal made in Morocco, filed against an administrative decision of ANRT (the Moroccan telecommunications authority), concerning a €245m penalty levelled at IAM.
- Representing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Morocco in commercial arbitration proceedings against its former distributor, Stokvis Automotive S.A.
Morocco > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 2
With a strong foothold in sectors such as automotive and tech, Bennani & Associés excels in representing major multinational clients, including Samsung C&T, Huawei, and Fiat, in North and West Africa. Guiding this powerhouse is managing partner Mehdi Bennani, a trusted advisor to major companies engaged in local and cross-border corporate and commercial transactions. In a recent highlight, Bennani advised Allianz SE in a joint venture with Sanlam Group.Practice head(s):
Mehdi Bennani
Testimonials
‘The team at Bennani are experts in their field of the local Moroccan laws and procedures. Queries from our firm are always addressed in a very timely and professional manner. They have assisted us greatly in how to move forward in many situations, be it day-to-day business or corporate restructuring, and supported us throughout the procedures.’
‘Working with the individuals at Bennani and Associates has proven to be very pleasant and professional. I highly recommend Bennani’s team.’
Key clients
AMMC (The Moroccan Capital Market Authority)
Adidas
Allianz SE
Alstom
Bel SA (Groupe Bel)
Bunzl plc
Crown Holdings, Inc.
Engie
Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company
FIAT
Huawei
Phillips
Samsung C&T
Siemens AG
Western Union
Azelis Group NV
Etisalat
Fabernovel
Globis Acquisition Corp.
Hartwood SA
Inspired Education Holding
Koch Ag & Energy Solutions
Ontime Corporate Union S.L
Plastic Omnium
TUI Group (TUI AG)
Work highlights
- Advising global insurance company, Allianz SE, on a €2 billion joint venture with Sanlam Group, which created a large Pan-African insurer with operational assets across 29 African markets outside South Africa.
- Acting for France-based Plastic Omnium on the €600 million acquisition of India-based Varroc Lighting System, including its Moroccan subsidiary.
- Acting as Moroccan counsel to Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company on its €169.5 million acquisition of 100% of the shares and voting rights in Atlas Bottling Company SA and an indirect equity participation in Seven UP Bottling Company of Morocco from Diana Holding SA.
Morocco > Employment Tier 2
The team at Bennani & Associés has a particular specialism in representing multinational companies in disputes involving allegations of employee poaching, dismissals, and labour litigation arising from employee transfers. Mehdi Bennani and Abdellah Moustaid jointly lead the practice. Benanni is particularly adept at handling non-contentious employment mandates, and is noted for his longstanding corporate expertise. Moustaid leads the firm’s litigation team, often acting for the subsidiaries of multinational organisations in matters concerning breaches of employment contracts. Mahdi Yamnahaddou is known for his deep knowledge of labour law, often appearing before Moroccan labour courts.Practice head(s):
Mehdi Bennani; Abdellah Moustaid
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
3M
Adidas
Amazon
Casa Tram
Crimidesa Maroc S.A
Dell
IQVIA
Jumia
Lanco Maroc
LMV
Maphar
Philips
Samsung C&T
Smollan
STMicroelectronics
TUI AG
Viatris
Work highlights
Bennani & Associés > Firm Profile
Firm overview: Founded in 2004, Bennani & Associes is a leading independent pan-African firm with offices in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire and now also Democratic Republic of Congo. If offers cutting-edge business law expertise to listed and unlisted companies as well as public entities and international law firms active in the region. In each market, the firm has a particular expertise in representing foreign investors across a wide range of complex issues, including:
- General corporate law
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Joint ventures and partnerships
- Corporate restructuring
- Competition/antitrust and other regulatory advice
- Employment law
- Financing
- Commercial litigation and arbitration
Industries served: The firm has extensive experience in representing a range of major industry sector, including (but not limited to):
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Chemicals
- Consumer electronics
- Energy
- Engineering and construction
- Financial Services
- Food
- Oil and gas
- Pharmaceuticals
- Private equity
- Telecommunications
- Transport
Recent highlights:
- Antitrust counsel to Alstom on filing of its €6.2bn merger with Bombardier (Morocco)
- Counsel to Sage Global Automotive S.R.L. on its acquisition of a 30% stake and voting rights in the Moroccan company, ERT Automotive Morocco Sarl-Au (Morocco)
- Counsel to Bunzl on Moroccan aspects of its acquisition of a 100% equity interest in Proin Pinilla, S.L., and Protec & Marti, S.L. (Morocco)
- Counsel to global investment management firm Carlyle in a $404m bankruptcy litigation procedure against the SAMIR refinery (Morocco)
- Counsel to Representing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Morocco in commercial arbitration against its former distributor (Morocco)
- Counsel to Facebook on data privacy and payment instruments for new products (Algeria)
- Counsel to Hyundai on a new vehicle manufacturing joint venture with Tahkout Manufacturing Company (Algeria)
- Counsel to Evatherm AG in successful defence against penalty claims relating to a turnkey salt production plant (Algeria)
- Counsel to Enel Green Power on regulatory review of 5,000MW of photovoltaic and wind farm projects (Algeria)
- Counsel to Delfingen Industry in the acquisition of a 100% shareholding in Schlemmer group’s Tunisian subsidiary (Tunisia)
- Counsel to Volkswagen regarding merger clearance of its joint venture with Rimac (Tunisia)
- Counsel to Salama – Islamic Arab Insurance Company PSC on the sale of its Senegalese subsidiary, Salama Senegal, to Groupe Duval (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Counsel to Paystack Nigeria on regulatory authorisation of the company’s activities (Côte d’Ivoire)
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | |||
| Mergers and acquisitions | |||
| Banking and project finance | |||
| Energy | |||
| Real estate | |||
| Employment law | |||
| Tourism and hotel projects | |||
| Intellectual property litigation | |||
| Banking litigation | |||
| Commercial litigation | |||
| Labour litigation | |||
| Stock exchange and capital markets | |||
| Private equity | |||
| Arbitration and dispute resolution | |||
| Telecommunications law |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 53 At this office : 22Languages
Arabic English FrenchOther
Contact : Mehdi Bennani Other offices : Abidjan (Ivory Coast) Other offices : Algiers (Algeria) Other offices : Kinshasa (DRC) Other offices : Tunis (Tunisia)- Dispute resolution
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Employment