Lesieur Cristal

Lesieur Cristal is a Moroccan agri-food company headquartered in Casablanca. Its business includes table oils and olive oil, as well as personal-care and household-hygiene products. The company also entered Morocco’s margarine market through its 2017 acquisition of Indusalim, described in the supplied source as an important local margarine-market participant. The company traces its origins to Lesieur Afrique, created in 1941 by the French Lesieur Group. Following its acquisition by Morocco’s ONA Group in the 1980s, Lesieur Afrique was combined in the 1990s with Unigral Cristal and the Société d’Exploitation des Produits Oléagineux (SEPO) to form Lesieur Cristal, a Moroccan national champion in the sector. Sofiprotéol, a subsidiary of French multinational Groupe Avril, is identified as Lesieur Cristal’s principal shareholder, with a reported 43.5% stake. Sofiprotéol became the reference shareholder and industrial operator after acquiring a 41% stake from SNI in 2012. The company remains listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Lesieur Cristal has two industrial production sites in Casablanca and is present throughout Morocco. Its olive-oil-related subsidiaries include SEO, in the province of Kelâat Sraghnas, and Les Domaines Jawhara and OLIVCO, near Meknès. The company describes its international development as expanding its presence in African, European, American, Asian, and Middle Eastern markets.

Lesieur Cristal’s origins date to 1941, when the French Lesieur Group created Lesieur Afrique. The company later became part of Morocco’s ONA Group after its acquisition in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Lesieur Afrique merged with Unigral Cristal and the Société d’Exploitation des Produits Oléagineux (SEPO), forming Lesieur Cristal as a national company in the Moroccan agri-food sector. A major ownership change took place in 2012. Sofiprotéol acquired a 41% stake from SNI, becoming the company’s reference shareholder and industrial operator. The supplied source identifies Sofiprotéol as a subsidiary of Groupe Avril, which adopted that group name in 2015, and reports it as Lesieur Cristal’s principal shareholder with a 43.5% stake. Despite this strategic shareholder, Lesieur Cristal remained listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. In 2013, as part of the Maroc Vert plan, the company signed a program contract with the Moroccan state aimed at developing the oilseed sector and became an aggregator. In 2017, it acquired all of Indusalim, an important participant in Morocco’s margarine market. The company is based in Casablanca, where it operates two industrial production sites, and has a presence throughout Morocco. Its olive-oil-related subsidiaries include SEO in the province of Kelâat Sraghnas, and Les Domaines Jawhara and OLIVCO near Meknès. Its product activities include table and olive oils, personal-care and household-hygiene products, and margarine. The company’s international development has been described as extending its presence in Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.

• 2017

  Acquisition of Indusalim

• 2015

  Sofiprotéol parent group renamed

• 2013

  Oilseed-sector program contract

• 2012

  Sofiprotéol acquires a major stake

• 1990

  Formation of Lesieur Cristal

• 1980

  Acquired by ONA Group

• 1941

  Lesieur Afrique founded

A Moroccan agri-food company with a national production and distribution presence and an expanding international footprint.

• Table and edible oils

  A core product category identified in the source.

• Olive oil

  A product category supported by the company’s olive-oil-related subsidiaries.

• Margarine

  A category associated with the 2017 acquisition of Indusalim.

• Personal-care and household-hygiene products

  Product categories named in the source.

• 2017

  Expansion into margarine through IndusalimOther

• 2013

  Participation in the Maroc Vert oilseed-sector programOther

1. 1Lesieur Cristal — French Wikipediafr.wikipedia.org
2. 2Lesieur Crystal — Wikidatawikidata.org