Morocco’s largest companies are increasingly turning to Europe for external growth, according to La Vie éco, which counts a wave of stake-taking announcements over the past three years.
In June 2026, pharmaceutical group Laprophan completed its acquisition of Swiss firm Rivopharm, which generates annual revenue of around €100 million and brings 125 molecules, 1,500 product references sold in about 30 countries, an industrial site in Lugano approved by US and European authorities, and several European subsidiaries.
Other deals date mainly from 2024, a pivotal year. Dislog Group bought Spain’s Chef Sam, a European distributor of food brands, for €40 million in September 2024, with Chef Sam’s Barcelona base overseeing the group’s French operations. Payments-software firm HPS acquired 100% of Ireland’s CR2 Limited in August 2024, while Al Mada’s agri-food subsidiary Teralys agreed to acquire Italian cocoa and plant-protein processor Nutkao for nearly €450 million; Nutkao has plants in Belgium, the United States and Ghana and sells in around 80 countries.
The article notes a common profile: acquirers tend to be firms with revenue of at least €100 million, or roughly one billion dirhams — Laprophan above $250 million, Dislog at 3.67 billion dirhams in 2024 and HPS at 1.55 billion dirhams in 2025.
State-linked companies have followed. Marsa Maroc agreed in December 2025 to buy 45% of Boluda Maritime Terminals, which operates in nine ports between the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands, for €80 million. OCP took 50% of Spain’s Global Feed in 2023 and 75% in 2024, having entered Fertinagro Biotech in 2018 and created a joint venture with it in 2019 for enriched fertilizers at Jorf Lasfar.
The EU accounts for 15.8% of world trade and is Morocco’s leading trading partner, at 65% of its external trade, with Spain first among them. Yet La Vie éco cautions that the route carries risks, citing experiences that ended early, such as those of CIMAF and Diana Holding in France.