[Intl-tobacco] Altadis Wins Bid for Morocco Tobacco Monopoly

[Robert Weissman]

French-Spanish group buys 80% of Morocco's tobacco company

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.