Al Mada (holding)

Société Nationale d'Investissement (SNI)

(National Investment Company) or Al
Mada, is a large private Moroccan holding
company mainly owned by the Moroccan
royal family.[3] Headquartered in
Casablanca (Morocco), the company was
established in 1966. SNI operates in
different fields such as banking,
telecommunication, renewable energy
businesses and food industry among
others.[4]
 Société Nationale d'Investissement
Industry Conglomerate

Predecessor ONA Group 

Founded 1966

Founder Moroccan state and

royal family
Headquarters 60, rue d'Alger
20000 Casablanca,
Morocco
Key people Hassan Bouhemou
Mounir Majidi
(Director of SIGER)
Mohammed VI
Revenue US$ 3.7 billion
(2017)
Net income US$ 508 million
(2017)[1]
US$12.2 billion
 (2017) [2]
Total assets
Total equity MAD 42.528 billion
(2012)[2]
Owner Mohammed VI
Members of the
Alaouite royal family
Website www.almada.ma  

The conglomerate also holds stakes in the

country's largest private companies:
AttijariWafa (Banking), Managem (mining),
Nareva (energy firm), Lafarge Ciments, and
Marjane (supermarket chain). SNI is
investing in other African countries
(Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Gabon,
etc.).[3]
The holding company used to be the
majority shareholder of the now defunct
ONA Group, until the activities of the latter
were absorbed into the SNI and
subsequently disposed of.

In 2012, the company's consolidated

turnover was MAD53 billion (US$5.3
billion) and its net income was MAD5
billion (US$500 million).

History
Created in 1966, SNI has been listed in
Casablanca Stock exchange since 1994.
In 2009, The conglomerate registered a
consolidated net income of MAD2.3
billion. The company invested nearly
MAD5.52 billion, mainly by acquiring 10%
of Attijariwafa Bank's capital from the
Spanish bank Santander.[5]

Despite the unfavourable global context,

the company's performance increased
365% in 2009, with a turnover of MAD3.42
billion, compared to the previous year.

Restructuring and merger

with ONA Group
Graphic detailing ownership of the palace-controlled

the Société National d'investissement, as of June

2013

The company planned a merger with ONA

(Omnium Nord-Africain), to diversify their
investments’ portfolio, in 2009. The
merger was only announced by the boards
of the two companies on March 26,
2010.[6] With this merger, the group shifted
from its conglomerate structure
controlling the activities of its subsidiaries
to an investment fund company
incubating, developing and disposing of
companies and projects present in the
Moroccan economy. The reorganisation
gave the group's subsidiaries a larger
autonomy in the management of their
affairs.[7]

As a result of the SNI-ONA merger, both

companies have been delisted from the
Casablanca stock market, forming a new
investment holding company. They later
list their subsidiaries on the stock
exchange market once they reach maturity
growth.
Partnership with Lafarge & Holcim
Maroc
…

In 2016, SNI partnered with Lafarge

Ciment and Holcim Maroc. The
partnership is composed of two separate
parts:[15]

The merging of Lafarge Ciments and

Holcim Maroc produced LafargeHolcim
Maroc, the second listed cement-
manufacturers in Africa.
The creation of a common development
subsidiary in Sub-Saharan French
speaking Africa.
This operation is beneficial for both
partners as they progress towards a Pan-
African investment fund. It created the first
industrial market capitalization in
Casablanca for an amount of MAD40
billion (EUR3.7 billion).[15]

Partnership's implementation process:

Merging of Holcim Maroc and Lafarge

Ciment
Assigning 50 percent to SNI of
LafargeHolcim Maroc shares
Contributing the new shares held by SNI
and LafargeHolcim Maroc to Lafarge
 Maroc to retain the major part of the
shares and control

The partnership also resulted in the

creation of a common development
subsidiary called LH Maroc Afrique, that
targets the Sub-Saharan French speaking
Africa (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gabon,
Mauritania and Mali...).[15]

Subsidiaries …

Attijariwafa Bank

SNI initially held 48% stake in Attijariwafa

bank. In January 2015, The conglomerate
hired the Goldman Sachs and Rothschild
banks to advise them on finalizing the deal
of selling 19% of Attijariwafa bank to
reduce SNI's debt.[16]

Nareva

Nareva holding is fully owned by SNI and

focuses on renewable and coal energy.[17]

Cosumar

In 2013, SNI started collaborating with

Cosumar only to resell the majority of its
shares in 2014. In 2015, the firm
completely sold the remaining shares to
the stock market.[18]

Centrale Laitière and Bimo

SNI sold its share of 37.7% in Centrale
Laitiére to the French firm Danone. It also
sold its 50% share of Bimo to Kraft
Foods.[9]

Lesieur Cristal

In 2014, the group sold its remaining

stakes of Lesieur in a public sale.[19]

Other Subsidiaries

Société Nationale d'Investissement (SNI)

owns several other firms :[20][21]

Agma Lahlou-Tazi
Lafarge Maroc
Managem
Marjane
Nareva
ONAPAR
OPTORG
SOMED
SONASID
Sotherma
Wafa Assurance
Wafa Cash
Wafa Capital
Wana Corporate (Inwi)
Aviation unit called Africaplane[22]
Monopoly Status and
Corruption Allegations
The Societe National d'Investissement and
its former holding arm (Omnium Nord
Africain) have been accused of
monopolistic market practices and of
corruption on several occasions. The fact
that the largest shareholder remains the
Moroccan Royal family to this day has
enabled the SNI to use significant political
and economic pressure on its rivals and
acquisition targets. Recent Wikileaks
cables[23] divulged in December 2010
reveal the reports of US diplomats casting
doubts on the integrity of the dealings of