Leading international law firm Clifford Chance today announced that Franck Coudert has joined the firm's global Corporate practice in Casablanca.

Franck Coudert has fifteen years of experience in strategic M&A transactions, joint ventures and complex commercial contracts with a particular focus on the financial services, energy, infrastructure and CG&R sectors, and on private equity transactions including: leveraged buy-outs, growth capital transactions, minority equity investments and restructuring. Franck also has broad experience in funds structuring and secondary transactions.

Mustapha Mourahib, Managing Partner of Clifford Chance's Casablanca office and one of the lead partners of the Africa practice commented: "Franck will be a fantastic addition to our Corporate group. In addition to his technical expertise, he has business skills that are essential in the Moroccan market and North Africa where the wide array of growth sectors requires versatile and well rounded lawyers. Franck's arrival will enable us to build out further our M&A practice in the region as well as our project finance practice in which we are leaders in Africa."

Guy Norman, Global Head of Clifford Chance's Corporate practice, added:  “We are delighted to welcome Franck Coudert into our global Corporate practice. We continue to see growing opportunities for corporate activity in Africa across a range of sectors and are pleased to be investing further in the region."

Clifford Chance's Casablanca office serves as a hub for the firm's clients across North and Sub Saharan African and has been involved on a number of recent high profile mandates including:

• Advising Wilmar International on the acquisition of a strategic stake in Cosumar SA
• Advising Kraft / Mondelez within the context of the acquisition of BIMO, the restructuring of Kraft Foods Maroc, and on day-to-day legal matters in Morocco and Algeria
• Advising OCP on its first bond issue of US$ 1.55 billion
• Advising GDF SUEZ, Nareva and Mitsui consortium on the US$ 2.6 billion financing of a 1,386 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired independent power project near the port of Safi in Morocco
• Advising Actis LLP on the acquisition of the water and energy activities of Veolia in Morocco