CDG Invest, Banque Centrale Populaire, Mfadel Group, Mutandis, Akwa Group… These large entities have one thing in common: they have regularized one or more concentration operations, benefiting from the derogatory regime opened between June and last December by the Competition Council.
The files of these companies are part of the 25 regularization cases handled by the regulator. They relate to mergers (merger, takeover, etc.) which had been consummated without prior notification to the Board. They were cleared through the payment of settlement fines (from 500,000 to 4 MDH, depending on the operation).
The beneficiary operators killed two birds with one stone:
– pay a reduced fine for an offense (Gun Jumping) which, in normal times, can reach 5% of turnover in addition to the cancellation of the concentration (not to mention the risk of cancellation of the transaction);
– proceed with the notification of a reconciliation which will henceforth be examined according to the normal procedure. On the Council’s website, one can thus identify several recent press releases, announcing notifications for transactions dating back several months, or even several years (e.g. acquisition of Holdparts by BCP in September 2021; acquisition of Season Brand by Mutandis).
The regularization only produces its effects on the offense that is purged (the non-notification). Now notified, the operations themselves will be examined by the Board, which reserves the right to validate them or not. This control in the followingmath allows the regulator to prevent the creation of anti-competitive positions on the markets concerned.
On the side of the Council, we welcome a “successful” regularization operation. The operation, which lasted six months, drained forty million dirhams in the coffers of the State. This is the total of transactional fines paid in the 25 files.
“Our customers felt confident”
Officially, this “exceptional” campaign ended at the beginning of the year. But what should we remember?
“The educational mission is clearly successful. If this regularization procedure was intended to make market players understand that they are in breach – often without knowing it – and that it is now necessary to systematically inform the Competition Council, the message has passed”, observes the founder of a large law firm.His firm has managed several regularization files.
“Our clients felt confident. It was not a question of an inquisitive approach, as we are used to experiencing with other administrations. We had before us pragmatic, solution-oriented services. They n were not there to castigate the operators”, underlines our interlocutor, who reinforces the rather positive feedback from practitioners that we consulted.
In addition to pedagogy, there are other more down-to-earth considerations. “The cost for our clients was ultimately acceptable,” said the lawyer. Because between 500,000 DH and a fine of 5% of turnover, the choice is quickly made. According to our information, among the regularized files, one case in particular would have been, in theory, liable to a financial penalty of 80 MDH if he had not opted for the transaction.
A second campaign in sight? “It would be very good if he [le Conseil] redo it. We have clients who have not been able to take the plunge, but who will gladly do so in view of the advantages offered by the procedure”, concludes our interlocutor.
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