OCP to Fully Acquire Emaphos at Jorf Lasfar by 2027
OCP plans to buy out Budenheim and Prayon's stakes in Emaphos at Jorf Lasfar, becoming its sole owner, with the acquisition expected to close in early 2027.
OCP Group, the world's largest exporter of phosphate and phosphate derivatives and one of Morocco's leading industrial players, has announced plans to acquire full ownership of Emaphos, a producer of purified phosphoric acid based in Jorf Lasfar, by buying out the stakes currently held by its partners, Germany's Chemische Fabrik Budenheim and Belgium's Prayon. The deal will be carried out through OCP's specialty unit, OCP Specialty Products & Solutions, with closing expected in early 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
What Emaphos is and why the deal matters
Founded in 1996 in Jorf Lasfar, Emaphos produces purified phosphoric acid used in specialty fertilizers as well as in the food and pharmaceutical industries and certain energy-transition applications. Its production capacity rose from 140,000 tonnes a year at founding to about 300,000 tonnes a year since 2023, making it an important link in OCP's industrial setup at Jorf Lasfar, alongside the site's fertilizer plants and other raw phosphate processing units.
A push toward higher-value specialty products
Under the agreement, Budenheim and Prayon will remain strategic commercial partners of Emaphos, with existing supply agreements staying in place, while the Moroccan group integrates the company more closely into its industrial platform to strengthen its position in high-value specialty phosphate markets serving niche sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals and batteries. OCP already owns 50% of Prayon S.A., reflecting the depth of the partnership between the two groups over the years.
The move comes as OCP faces pressure on its margins, with revenue down 7% in the first half of 2026 to 48.372 billion dirhams, while group EBITDA fell to 13.307 billion dirhams from 18.612 billion a year earlier, amid higher sulfur costs and weaker global demand for phosphate fertilizers.
The Emaphos acquisition reflects OCP's push toward higher-value products that are less exposed to swings in raw phosphate prices, as the group looks to offset pressure on its traditional margins by building a stronger presence in specialty markets with more stable pricing and demand.