Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2006, partner Simon Auquier is a member of Gide's Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate practice group. He moved to the Casablanca office in early 2010, where he now heads the M&A department, after spending four years in Gide's Paris office. He works on corporate acquisitions and divestments, acquisitions of equity holdings, as well as investment and industrial partnership projects for foreign investors seeking to move into Morocco and/or expand their existing investments in the country. In addition, he works for Moroccan clients on joint ventures with foreign partners, acquisitions in Morocco, etc. Simon also assists both Moroccan and foreign clients on their investment projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Over recent years, he has been involved in a number of major acquisition and investment projects in West Africa, and in operations involving various African sub-regions.
Gide Loyrette Nouel
The M&A and corporate team at GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL is a trusted partner for major Moroccan and multinational clients embarking on high-stakes M&A transactions within Morocco and the broader southern African region. At the head of the practice is Simon Auquier, who has recently been advising on a variety of cases, including a cross-border joint venture in the agriculture industry and contractual documentation and negotiations in the fabric industry. Adding depth to the team is co-head Chloé Joachim De Larivière. Promoted to partner in July 2023, Larivière is a specialist in M&A, private equity, and corporate law in North Africa; she works alongside Auquier on many of the firm’s cases.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Key clients
- Agroberries
- CASTEL (SBM)
- nama HoldinG
- AXA Partners
- IBM
- Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factory
- AGILITY
Work highlights
- Advised Chilean group Agroberries on the setting up of a joint venture with Moroccan group Zalar: this JV will produce berries in Morocco.
- Advising Nama Holding (CDG Group) on a minority investment in two Moroccan companies who produce denim and fabric.
- Advised Groupe Castel (Société des Boisons du Maroc) in connection with the sale of its bottled water activities in Morocco to Groupe Mutandis.
Lawyers
Leading individuals
Next Generation Partners
Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2012, Chloé Joachim-de Larivière is an associate within Gide's Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate practice group in Casablanca, specialising in mergers & acquisitions, private equity and corporate law in the North Africa region. Her expertise covers acquisitions and mergers of public and private companies as well as major restructuring transactions in the following sectors: Retail (Carrefour, Label' Vie), Consumer Goods (Mondelez, Cosumar, Decathlon), Health and Pharmaceuticals (NovoNordisk, Bayer, Pfizer, Fresenius Medical Care), Hospitality (Groupe Palmeraie), Automotive (Volvo, Renault, Honda), Energy (Engie, Veolia). Chloé Joachim-de Larivière started her qualified legal career in 2011 at Clifford Chance, in the Corporate and M&A team in Paris before joining the team of four lawyers opening their Casablanca office in 2012. At this period, she was also seconded as General Legal Counsel of Mondelez International (in charge of the North Africa Region) in Casablanca during six months. She joined Gide Casablanca in 2015. Chloé Joachim-de-Larivière holds a postgraduate degree in Corporate and Tax Law (Magistère - DJCE) and a Master in business law from Paris II University. She is admitted to the Paris Bar and she speaks French and English.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Simon Auquier, Chloé Joachim De Larivière