Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
9 March 2016
Appointment | Morocco | Projects (Finance & Infrastructure)
Gide is pleased to announce the arrival to its Casablanca office of new partner Wacef Bentaibi, who specialises in project financing in the fields of energy, infrastructure and transport.
Wacef Bentaibi, 36, acts both for sponsors and lenders on cases for the design, financing, development and operation of public and private infrastructure projects in Morocco and Africa. He has in-depth experience in foreign investment matters and regularly works with international investors and public entities in the structuring, drafting and negotiation of complex industrial agreements and investment agreements. Wacef has also developed a leading expertise in the mining and upstream oil & gas sectors, and assists a number of operators and public bodies in Morocco and in the MENA region. Prior to joining Gide, Wacef had practised within Gide and Allen & Overy in Morocco and Paris. He holds an LL.M. from the University of Oslo (2003), a certificate in EU/EEE public procurement law from the University of Bergen (2002) and a Master’s degree in business law from the University of Paris X-Nanterre (2002).
“I am very pleased to have Wacef re-join our team. He is an experienced practitioner, and his arrival will bolster our capacity to offer specific project-related expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors, which are significant development avenues for our office”, states Jean-François Levraud, partner in charge of Gide Cuatrecasas Casablanca.
Gide’s managing partner Stéphane Puel adds: “Gide has acted on all major operations in North Africa for over 15 years and we consider Morocco, where we set up our office in 2003, as a key and high-potential hub that is at the heart of our development strategy. Wacef’s appointment reflects our wish to further develop our firm in Morocco and Africa”.
Gide’s Projects (Finance & Infrastructure) practice group has more than twenty years of significant cross-disciplinary experience, regularly advising every type of industry player on all aspects of infrastructure deals and financings in the most diverse, innovative and challenging projects in the world. Our lawyers represent sponsors, lenders and governments in pioneering PPP, BOT, concession projects and privatisations in civil and common law countries alike, and in particular in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. On a number of occasions and in several countries, we have been involved in successfully closing the first project of its type in a given sector in that country, and our lawyers have been involved for years in shaping the legal and institutional framework for projects in France, China and Africa.
