Dangote Refinery IPO draws up to $1.6 billion from 119 countries - Report

Aliko Dangote’s nearly $50 billion refinery business has reportedly secured enough commitments from Nigerian and retail investors to meet its initial public offering (IPO) fundraising target, raising the prospect of fierce competition among international investors seeking shares in the company. According to a Bloomberg report, domestic and retail investors have committed between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, effectively meeting the offer’s fundraising target before allocations are made to international investors. People familiar with the ongoing process told Bloomberg that demand from overseas investors could exceed the shares available, even if the company exercises an option to increase the size of the offering. The company is expected to use an overallotment option of up to 30% to accommodate additional demand, potentially raising about $2.1 billion. However, the expanded offer may still not be sufficient to satisfy international interest, the sources said. A spokesperson for Dangote however declined to comment, according to Bloomberg. The refinery’s owner, Aliko Dangote, extended the deadline for IPO applications by two weeks to October 27, 2026, as his team worked across Africa to broaden participation beyond Nigeria and encourage greater integration of the continent’s capital markets. For the first time, investors from all 54 African countries requested allocations in the offering. Investors from a total of 119 countries had applied by the time of Bloomberg’s report, according to people familiar with the process. The IPO also features nominee investment structures involving Standard Bank Group in South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia, alongside global depository receipts being offered through stock exchanges in Kenya and Botswana. If demand substantially exceeds the available shares, Dangote could consider selling part of his personal stake to investors who fail to secure allocations through the IPO. However, any secondary sale would depend on his assessment of the final order book, and no decision had been made, Bloomberg reported. Speaking in Gaborone, Botswana, on October 14, Dangote said the refinery had attracted interest several times greater than the amount being sought. “We have more than reached our target. More than three times or four times what we are looking for,” Dangote earlier said. The refinery, located in Lagos, Nigeria, is the largest oil-processing complex in Africa and is regarded as one of the continent’s most strategically significant industrial assets. The just concluded IPO provided international investors with an opportunity to gain equity exposure to a major African industrial business. With additional files from Bloomberg MASource: www.ghanaweb.com
« Previous | Next »