Samir Refinery: The conditions for recovery
Based in the city of Mohammedia, the Samir refinery has been placed in compulsory liquidation with continuity of operations since March 2016. The company and the 540 employees who have remained in office to date have been waiting for almost seven years for a favorable outcome of the procedure. After the 2017 attempt, a second one was initiated at the Casablanca Commercial Court to sell the only refinery in the Kingdom of Morocco.
The judicial trustee, Abdelkebir Safadi, announced at the end of January 2023 that the sale of the assets of the limited company of the refining industry (Samir) will be made on the basis of specifications. This sale is based on order no 14-2017 of January 30, 2017 of judge Abderrafia Bouhameri. This rather discreet magistrate supervises the judicial liquidation. “The sale has been set for a starting price of 21.46 billion Dirhams (US billion 2.15)”, specifies one of the three controllers of the procedure, El Houssine El Yamani, himself an employee of Samir. Bids and guarantees must be filed with the Casablanca Commercial Court. “Investors are invited to submit bids accompanied by the necessary guarantees while complying with Article 636 of the Commercial Code”, indicates the announcement of the judicial transfer of the company. This provision provides, among other things, that “any bid must be communicated to the judicial trustee within the time limit that he has set”. Bids must be submitted within 30 days from the date of publication of the ad. Candidates for the purchase of the company therefore have until Thursday, March 2 to declare themselves to the judicial trustee. Abdelkebir Safadi works at the Casablanca Commercial Court in its Insolvency Section. All bids must contain activity and financing forecasts, the transfer price and the terms of payment, the date of completion of the transfer, as well as the level and prospects of employment justified by the activity in question. Judges also require guarantees subscribed to ensure the execution of the bid. Another condition required is the provision of asset sales forecasts for the 2 years following the judicial sale. Bids must also include documents relating to the last three financial years when candidates are legally required to establish them, as is the case for a public limited company. Investors interested in buying Samir’s assets are entitled to a visit to the refinery and to the consultation of the specifications. This document is available at the company’s head office in Mohammedia. The company carries out several activities, namely the refining, storage, transport and distribution of petroleum products. Samir thus has other subsidiaries such as Salam Gaz or Somas. “The first holds one third of the gas bottling market. The second company specializes in the storage of butane gas, also with very large market shares in this activity”, according to the president of the National Front for the rescue of the Samir refinery, mister El Houssine El Yamani.
Faiçal FAQUIHI
