Morocco privatized its phone monopoly in 2001; Etisalat paid $4.2bn for the stake in 2013

In 1999 Morocco split its posts-and-telecoms office into Poste Maroc and Maroc Telecom, a joint-stock company wholly owned by the state, led by Abdeslam Ahizoune. At the end of 2000 the government launched an international tender for a strategic partner.

Vivendi, led by Jean-Marie Messier, won: in February 2001 it paid 23 billion dirhams (€2.4bn) for 35% of the ex-monopoly, taking management control while Rabat retained the golden blocks. Le Monde called the operator one of the most profitable telecoms companies in the world.

In November 2004 Vivendi bought a further 16% from the state for €1.1 billion, reaching 51% control, and a month later Maroc Telecom listed on the Casablanca and Paris exchanges. By 2007 a share-exchange with the state's CDG fund left Vivendi at 53%, the CDG at 30% and about 17% in public hands.

The staged structure paid both sides: the state monetized at rising prices while keeping a large stake and dividends; Vivendi built a controlling position in one of Africa's most profitable operators - 33 million customers by 2012 - before selling its 53% to Etisalat for about $4.2 billion in 2013.

Control of the ex-monopoly sold at rising prices: 35% for €2.4bn (2001), +16% for €1.1bn (2004) giving 51%, and the 53% block later went to Etisalat for ~$4.2bn (2013).

An international tender chose an operator-manager, not just a buyer, so the state privatized know-how as well as equity.

Rising-price tranches (2001, 2004) let the state capture the value created under the partner's management instead of giving it away up front.

Keeping CDG's 30% and the public float preserved Moroccan ownership and a domestic market anchor after control passed.

Ahizoune's continuity as CEO gave investors the monopoly's incumbent economics without a management break.

Sell control in stages with a management contract: the strategic partner paid rising prices as performance proved out, and the state kept 30% of an operator that kept compounding.

Under Etisalat (from 2014) Maroc Telecom kept expanding across sub-Saharan Africa through Onatel, Mauritel, Gabon Telecom and Moov, and remained the kingdom's largest listed company with a market capitalization above 100 billion dirhams. The state's exit via CDG continued gradually, and the 2001 deal remains the reference for Moroccan privatizations - and the model's reputational anchor when later telecom disputes arose with the regulator.