Moroccan tycoon Moulay Hafid Elalamy to acquire substantial stake in Othman Benjelloun’s BMCE Group

Moulay Hafid Elalamy, a Moroccan politician and multimillionaires, is on track to acquire a 25-percent stake in BMCE Group, a leading Moroccan financial services group led by billionaire businessman Othman Benjelloun.

Molay Hafid Elalamy is the founder and owner of Saham Group, one of Morocco’s leading insurance service providers. He is also Morocco’s minister of industry, trade, and new technologies.

According to the terms of the deal, the businessman will purchase the shares previously held by Credit Mutuel, a French cooperative bank based in Strasbourg, France.

The announcement comes nearly a week after Benjelloun, BMCE’s CEO, told local media that the banking group will undergo a strategic shift that will affect all of its activities in Africa.

Following the deal, the French group is expected to transfer its interest in the Moroccan bank to Saham Group, marking the first step in the Elalamy-led insurance company’s expansion plans.

Elalamy’s net worth is estimated at $1 billion, making him one of Morocco’s richest businessmen. The majority of his wealth is held in a liquid cash position in Morocco, as he plans to invest the majority of the cash that he earned after selling his position in Saham to Sanlam in 2018.

Saham Group recently announced plans to acquire RMA Watanya, an operating subsidiary of Bank of Africa, a multinational financial services conglomerate led by Benjelloun.

Bank of Africa reported a 108.2-percent increase in earnings in the first nine months of 2021, with net profits increasing to MAD2.48 billion ($268.1 million) due to strong performance in its core business and marginal commission growth.

The increase in the banking group’s profit was driven by cost-cutting strategies implemented by management, which resulted in lower costs and the normalization of the cost of risk, which fell from MAD2.57 billion ($277.75 million) in 2020 to MAD1.68 billion ($181.6 million).