The office of joint venture firm Gide Cuatrecasas Casablanca has announced the arrival of a new partner in its project finance team.
Wacef Bentaibi rejoins the firm after a spell at Naciri & Associés Allen & Overy, the magic circle firm's Moroccan outfit, where he was a senior associate.
Bantaibi is experienced in the energy, infrastructure and transport sectors, acting for both sponsors and lenders on PPP (public-private partnership) projects in Morocco, across the MENA region and further into Sub-Saharan Africa.
Recent mandates include assisting as Allen & Overy advised the Moroccan state with the financing of PSA Peugeot Citroën's Moroccan car manufacturing plant in 2015, a €557 million transaction.
The move from Gide Cuatrecasas comes at a time of significant activity in the Moroccan market, and will be seen as an attempt by the Franco-Spanish firm to keep up with its international competitors in an ever growing and competitive environment.