• Cap Holding secured approval to acquire 68% of Forafric Maroc, a major wheat processor.

• The deal strengthens Cap Holding’s position across Morocco’s milling value chain and boosts capacity.

• Forafric’s sale follows financial strain at its parent group, with debt estimated at $179 million.

Morocco’s Competition Council has approved industrial group Cap Holding’s acquisition of 68% of the share capital of Forafric Maroc SA, a food company specializing in wheat flour, couscous, semolina, and pasta production.

Local outlet Médias 24 reported the decision on April 20. The approval allows Cap Holding to finalize a transaction it initiated after opening negotiations in early March to take control of a leading milling operator in Morocco.

Founded in 1926, Forafric produces and markets a wide range of wheat-derived products through its flagship brands “MayMouna” and “Tria.” The company stated in its latest annual report published in 2025 that it operates nine mills in Morocco with a total annual milling capacity of 1.1 million tonnes.

Forafric also operates a secondary processing unit with production capacity of nearly 53,000 tonnes of pasta and couscous. The company manages two logistics platforms and maintains grain storage capacity estimated at 300,000 tonnes.

Local media said Forafric Maroc decided to sell a majority stake to Cap Holding amid financial fragility at its parent group, Forafric, which faced high debt estimated at $179 million as of end-June 2025.

Toward a Stronger Position in the Milling Industry

While financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed, the transaction should allow Cap Holding to strengthen its presence in Morocco’s milling industry, which remains its historical core business.

Cap Holding operates across the entire milling value chain in Morocco, including trading, storage, grain processing, and logistics. The group manages these activities through several subsidiaries, including Gromic, Ceralog, SNMM, Moony, and LMB. The group reports total annual milling capacity of nearly 600,000 tonnes across its subsidiaries.

With control of Forafric, Cap Holding can capture a larger share of Morocco’s wheat market, where annual consumption stands at around 10 million tonnes. The group can also expand its position in the growing export segment.

In its latest report on Morocco’s grain market, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects exports in this category to reach 137,845 tonnes by the end of the 2025/2026 marketing year. If confirmed, this projection would mark a 48% increase over the past three marketing seasons, from 93,042 tonnes recorded in 2022/2023.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum