Moroccan Central Bank Approves Saham’s Acquisition of Société Générale Subsidiary

"The last necessary authorization for Saham to finalize its acquisition of the Moroccan subsidiary of Société Générale has been obtained," reveals Médias24, specifying that "Saham has all the authorizations to finalize the acquisition of 57.67% of the capital of the Société Générale Marocaine de Banques (SGMB). The logical next step is the closing of the transaction. A closing that will be signed in early December in Casablanca."

The magazine Jeune Afrique confirmed the information about the granting of the new approvals to Société Générale Maroc and its subsidiaries (Eqdom, Sogelease, SG Offshore). "It is now official: the Moroccan subsidiary of the Société Générale giant is passing under the aegis of the Saham group. Seven months after the signing of this ’deal of the year’ worth 745 million euros with the French banking group, Moulay Hafid Elalamy has just obtained the green light from the central bank, led by Abdellatif Jouahri," we read.

Saham "would thus take over all the activities operated" by Société Générale Maroc, as well as those of the insurance company La Marocaine Vie, according to the statement from the Moroccan holding company. Also, all employees will be taken over by Saham. The French group has already sold its subsidiaries in Congo and Chad, and would also be preparing to disengage in Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso.

Through these sales, Société Générale intends to "shape a simplified, more synergistic and efficient model," as other French banks like Barclays or BNP Paribas have done, selling several of their subsidiaries in Africa in recent years. Société Générale has planned all these disposals in its strategic roadmap. Last year, the French bank’s net profit reached 2.5 billion euros.