Nadia Kettani

Nadia Kettani has joined Kettani Law Firm as a senior Partner in en 1992 and is the Head of the Consulting Department.

EDUCATION : Law degree at Casablanca Law University, Masters in business and civil law.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:

• Senior attorney before the Supreme Court and Senior Partner at KETTANI LAW FIRM since 1992.
• Has undertaken internships in law firms in Paris, France, and the United States
• Continuous training at the International Law Institute, affiliated to the Georgetown University (Washington)

EXPERIENCE:

Head of the consulting department in the main following areas:

• Corporate / Mergers & Acquisitions
• Arbitration
• Energy / Project Finance
• Telecommunications
• Investments

RECENT TRANSACTIONS  :

• In the energy sector, Nadia Kettani advised the company Jorf Lasfar Extension in the financing of a power plant projects between 2012 and 2014 for an amount of USD 1.4 billion. Nadia Kettani advised on the Safi project relating to a USD 2.6 billion power plant. In 2015 and 2016, Nadia Kettani advised Green of Africa (Morocco) on its projects relating to renewable energy.
• In the banking and finance sector, Nadia Kettani advised the Moroccan state investment bank in relation to sovereign bond issuance programs in 2012 (USD 1.5 billion) and in 2014 (EUR 1 billion), and also commercial banks such as BMCE in relation to its bond issuance in 2014 (MAD 1 billion) and Crédit Agricole in the financing of its international projects in 2015 and 2016. Nadia Kettani also advised the Fonds Hassan II for economic and social development in 2016 and House Invest (Bahrein) in the restructuration of its activity in Morocco.
• In the area of aircraft financing, Nadia Kettani has represented Royal Air Morocco, the Moroccan airline operator company, in various aircraft acquisitions and financing deals (of confidential values) it has entered into with the company Embraer and the company Boeing in the financing of its dreamliner in 2015/2016 as well as the company Air Arabia (United Arab Emirates) in its financing matters since their start of business in Morocco, including in 2015 and 2016. In addition, Nadia Kettani also advised Air Canada in 2016 regarding its implementation in Morocco.
• In the telecommunications sector, Nadia Kettani and her team acted as local counsel for Vivendi in relation to its EUR 4 billion disposition of its former stakes in Maroc Telecom and advised France Telecom on its EUR 640 million investment in Méditelecom. In 2015, Nadia Kettani also advised Orange (France) in its takeover of Meditelecom.
• The Consulting Department is also very active in the area of mergers and acquisitions. Nadia Kettani has advised, amongst others, the following key corporate clients in relation to their mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures in Morocco and abroad: Al Sahl Group (Libya); Al Homaizi (Kowait) in relation to its introduction of IKEA in Morocco and Alshaya Group (Kuwait) in relation to the setting up of international franchises in Morocco (such as Starbucks and H&M), St Gobain (France) and Platinum Power (Morocco) in relation to the its capital opening operation to AfricInvest.
• Nadia Kettani has also recently acted on behalf of top tier international hotel operator companies such as Hilton and Marriott regarding their investments in Morocco and also represented local groups such as Risma which is managing the hotels of Accor in Morocco as well as Atlas Voyages in relation to its partnership with TUI, and other local companies with regards to their joint venture with American investors in the tourism sector. In 2015 and 2016, Nadia Kettani notably assisted Marriott regarding is implementation in Marrakech and Fès and Taameer (Koweit) in the selling of its hotel units.
• In the course of 2013 and 2014, Nadia Kettani has also acted as local counsel for the International Finance Corporation (IFC, the financial institution of the World Bank). In 2015/2016, Nadia Kettani as well advised the EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) regarding their various investment projects in Morocco, and in particular, its stake holding in a Moroccan entity.
• In 2016, Nadia Kettani advised operators in other industries, like the equipment industry, with the advising provided to TATA Motors and the electronic industry with Philipps, relating to the restructuration of their activities in Morocco.
• In the consumer goods sector, Nadia Kettani advised in 2015 a subsidiary of Obegi Group (Lebanon) in its financing deals in Morocco.

LANGUAGES: English, French and Arabic

KETTANI LAW FIRM:

Kettani Law Firm (KLF) is one of the strongest independent law firms in Morocco covering contentious and non-contentious cases. It was originally established by Professor Azzedine Kettani in 1971. Senior partners Nadia Kettani and Rita Kettani are respectively the head of the international consulting department and the head of the commercial department, and the litigation department and the labour law department.

KLF specialises in financial and business activities, and is an acknowledged leader in the fields of corporate finance, banking, project finance, corporate and commercial law. Accordingly, the firm regularly represents banks and other financial institutions, international businesses, major public and private companies and government offices in Morocco and North Africa. KLF has particularly strong language capabilities in French, English and Arabic.

The KLF corporate and M&A team has been constantly expanding with various recruits joining the team from Europe, and, for the US, Azzedine Kettani and Nadia Kettani continue to work as first points of contact for foreign investors seeking legal advice in relation to their businesses in Morocco.

In the last nine years the firm has grown from 30 people to 120, offering a wide range of services whether in the consulting department or the litigation department.