By Mary Izuaka

 

Dangote Refinery has opened the order book for its $1.6 billion Initial Public Offering (IPO), in what is set to be Africa’s largest capital market transaction.

The month-long offer, which commenced on Monday, is aimed at raising funds to double the refinery’s processing capacity and expand its shareholder base across the continent.

According to the offer prospectus, the company will sell 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per unit. The offer will run until 13 October 2026, with listing on the Nigerian Exchange scheduled for November.

Retail push

Vetiva Advisory Services is the lead issuing house for the transaction. Other joint issuing houses include First Cap, Chapel Hill Denham, Absa Capital Markets, Afrinvest Capital and Stanbic IBTC Capital.

Addressing investment bankers and the investing public last week in Lagos, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the refinery plans to bring in 10 million African retail investors, “from cooks and drivers to traders and managers,” to deepen financial inclusion.

The minimum subscription is 10 units, equivalent to N5,250. The offer also includes a green shoe option that allows underwriters to sell an additional 30 per cent of shares if the IPO is oversubscribed.

Applicants are required to provide a valid Bank Verification Number (BVN) for validation. The shares can also be purchased through approved Point of Sale (POS) terminals and stockbroking apps in a bid to widen access.

Expansion plans

Proceeds from the IPO will be used to expand the 700,000 barrels-per-day refinery to 1.4 million bpd by 2030.

The company said a private placement conducted in July ahead of the IPO was 270 per cent oversubscribed, despite an initial target of $2.5 billion.

Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV, a subsidiary of Lilium Capital Group, underwrote and funded $600 million of the placement.

Heavyweight institutional investors, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, have also indicated interest in the refinery.

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Dangote Refinery is also planning to build a refinery of similar scale in Lamu, coastal Kenya, to serve the East African market. Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for 30 September.

The company is further considering a cross-border listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, as well as quotations in Egypt, Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda.

According to its financial highlights, Dangote Refinery recorded a turnover of N19.1 trillion in the first half of 2026, driven by rising global oil prices following the US/Iran conflict.

Profit after tax for the period stood at N2.5 trillion.

Mr Dangote said the IPO aligns with his broader goal of industrialising Africa and leveraging opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He added that the refinery’s expansion would reduce Africa’s dependence on imported petroleum products and create more jobs across the continent.