About

Number of years practice: 20+

Principal practice areas: Pan-African business law, tax in Africa, M&A, corporate and commercial, private equity

Languages spoken: French, English and Spanish

What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?

Pan-African practice with a particular focus on North and Francophone Africa, West Africa and Central Africa.

Please describe the most important matters you have worked on in the African market in the last two years, including your role and the significance of the matter (if any) to the development of business and law.

Our team is providing ongoing effective support to SUNU – a leader in the insurance sector in West and Central Africa – in relation to its subsidiaries and operations including M&A throughout more than 15 African jurisdictions. Our Africa practice team is also providing this support to SOMDIAA, a major player in the agro-food industry in Africa, in relation to its subsidiaries and operations including M&A throughout more than eight African jurisdictions. The team is providing ongoing effective support to GBfoods in relation to its subsidiaries and operations including M&A throughout more than five African jurisdictions.

We also assisted BPEC (Banque Populaire pour l’Epargne et le Crédit), established in Togo, within the context of its recapitalisation and the entry into the capital by the Group SUNU, through a majority stake. We provide continuous advice to Unilever Group regarding its development in West Africa, and in particular in Ivory Coast, through issues of restructuring and recapitalisation. Our Africa Practice team is advising the client in any of its legal, corporate, regulatory, tax and/or commercial issues in all OHADA African jurisdictions where he has some interests.

Lastly, we assisted GBH Group within the context of the purchase of the company WANITA in Côte d’Ivoire, a banana plantation. Our team advised the client during the whole process of the acquisition, dealing with all local corporate and M&A issues.

What differentiates your practice from that of other private practice lawyers?

Most of our professional lawyers based in Paris have lived in Africa and practiced law on the continent. The team of lawyers is dedicated exclusively to business projects in Africa and especially in Francophone Africa – 28 African jurisdictions, – including OHADA Member States – 17 African jurisdictions. They combine their knowledge of African laws with their international experience allowing them to be fully proficient in operations related to most African countries.

For more than 50 years our teams have advised and assisted clients including international companies, private equity funds, international lenders or African groups on their strategic development in the continent. Our guidance and knowledge allow our clients to take advantage of all economic opportunities of this dynamic continent.

Why has Africa been a particularly strong focus for you?

Having practiced for more than 20 years and being exclusively dedicated to matters related to this continent make our practice both unique and committed. We have seen in this period how Africa is being more and more strategic for all investors, including for African groups themselves.

What changes have you seen in the appetite for Africa-based ventures and investments over the last five years?

The main change is related to the growth of the African consumption demand, creating investment in all traditional sectors such as services, distribution, agribusiness, hotel and leisure, infrastructure, construction, health and more. Not only – as it was in the past – in export sectors such as oil and gas, mining and trade commodities.

Are there any aspects of the African legal market that you would like to see change?

The next challenge is to strengthen African judicial systems, which are still too weak.

What megatrends do you think will shape the African market over the coming five years? How (if at all) will these trends affect your practice?

We are at the really early stage of the development of the African market, therefore Africa will probably grow much quicker in some sectors than traditional western economies due to the existence of the digital economy. Africa is creating its own model of development.