The Competition Council has approved the joint takeover of mining company Compagnie Minière de Touissit (CMT) by Ayrad Group Limited and the Caisse Interprofessionnelle Marocaine de Retraite (CIMR). The decision was made during a meeting of the Council’s Permanent Commission on 13 July, chaired by Ahmed Rahhou. The commission also approved the minutes of its previous meeting on 2 July before reviewing the merger cases.
The approval allows Ayrad Group and CIMR to jointly control CMT. The Council did not disclose how the ownership will be divided between the two investors or reveal the financial terms of the deal.
The takeover follows an agreement announced in March, when Ayrad Group agreed to buy OSEAD Fund, which indirectly owned a 37.04% stake in CMT, for $130m.
The deal also ended two legal and commercial disputes involving CMT. One of them was with Shaba Metals LLC over 2024 offtake contracts. As part of the settlement, Shaba Metals agreed to pay CMT $12m.
Moroccan law requires any investor buying more than one-third of a listed company’s shares to launch a mandatory public takeover bid. Ayrad partnered with CIMR to meet those rules and establish joint control of CMT. CIMR already owned a 14.41% stake in the company before the transaction.
CMT is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and is one of the country’s biggest producers of high-grade silver, lead and zinc concentrates. Its main mining operation is the Tighza mine.
Ayrad Group is a mining investment company based in the United Arab Emirates. It entered the Moroccan market in 2025 with the acquisition of Compagnie Minière d’Oumejrane. The CMT deal adds lead, zinc and silver assets to its existing copper business.
CIMR is the country’s largest private sector pension fund and one of its biggest institutional investors. Its participation keeps a major domestic investor in CMT while supporting long-term investment in the mining sector.
The Competition Council’s approval clears the final regulatory hurdle for the transaction under Morocco’s merger control rules. The deal is one of the biggest mining transactions announced in the country this year.
