The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemicals FZE, paving the way for what could become one of the biggest transactions in Nigeria’s capital market.
The company is expected to list on the Nigerian Exchange on September 14, according to a company official. A signing ceremony for the IPO is scheduled to take place at Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, with senior executives of the Dangote Group expected to attend, led by Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited.
Under the offer, Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemicals FZE will make 4.1 billion ordinary shares available to investors at ₦525 per share. The shares have a nominal value of $0.000013 each.
The offering represents the first public share sale by the Dangote Refinery since it was commissioned in 2023, following almost a decade of construction and an estimated investment of about $20 billion.
Located within the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos, the refinery has a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, making it Africa’s largest single-train refinery.
Funds raised through the IPO are expected to support a major expansion programme that could eventually double the facility’s processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. If achieved, the expanded plant would rank as the world’s largest operating oil refinery, overtaking India’s Jamnagar refining complex.
The planned public offering comes shortly after the company raised $2.5 billion through a private placement in July. At the proposed offer price of ₦525 per share, the refinery’s implied valuation is estimated at approximately $47 billion.
A fully subscribed offering could also significantly increase the overall market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange, with estimates suggesting an increase of between 30 and 40 per cent.
To appeal to both institutional and retail investors, the company plans to offer dividends in US dollars. The strategy is designed to leverage foreign-exchange earnings from refined petroleum products and petrochemical exports while providing investors with some protection against naira volatility.
Since its commissioning in May 2023, the Dangote Refinery has grown into a major supplier to Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market, reportedly meeting more than 80 per cent of domestic petrol demand. However, its long-term performance will continue to depend on reliable crude oil supplies, export volumes and global refining margins.
The Dangote Group is also pursuing further expansion across Africa. The conglomerate plans to commence construction of a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day coastal refinery in Lamu, Kenya, on September 30.
Stockbrokers are expected to make the Dangote Refinery IPO available through their trading platforms once the subscription window opens.
The September 14 offering is therefore set to become a major test of investor appetite and liquidity on Nigeria’s domestic capital market, while potentially marking another significant step in the Dangote Group’s ambition to establish Nigeria as a major player in the global refining and petrochemical industry.
