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Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals opened subscription on Monday, Sept. 14, for 4.1 billion ordinary shares at 525 naira each, seeking about 2.15 trillion naira, or $1.63 billion, in the largest share sale in African history.
The offer closes on Oct. 13. Shares are expected to begin trading on the Nigerian Exchange in November.
At the offer price the refinery is valued at roughly 65.22 trillion naira, about $49 billion, using the 1,319.54 naira reference rate set in the prospectus. The Securities and Exchange Commission registered the company's 120.13 billion existing shares alongside the new issue.
What the prospectus discloses is a business that turned around inside twelve months. The refinery reported net income of $1.82 billion for the first half of 2026, against a loss of $476 million for the whole of 2025.
Retail investors can buy in for 5,250 naira, about $3.98, which is the cost of the ten-share minimum. Above that, subscriptions run in multiples of 50 shares.
The company can also issue up to 30% more stock if the offer is oversubscribed, subject to regulatory approval. Exercising that in full would take the raise above $2.1 billion.
Aliko Dangote holds 92.3% of the refinery. At the offer price that stake is worth about 58.21 trillion naira, or $44.1 billion, and it dilutes to roughly 89.25% once the new shares are issued.
The consequence for his own position is substantial. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index put his fortune at $35.3 billion on Aug. 30, carrying the refinery at approximately its $20 billion construction cost because it had no market price. Marking it at 525 naira would add about $25.6 billion, taking him past $60 billion.
The sale is large relative to the market receiving it. Nigeria's entire equity market was worth 157.59 trillion naira, about $118.66 billion, on Sept. 11. Listing the refinery at 65.22 trillion would add roughly 41% to that.
Some of the money moving into the offer is coming out of existing Nigerian shares. David Adonri, chief executive of HighCap Securities, has linked recent selling pressure on the exchange to investors repositioning ahead of the subscription, and analysts are divided over whether the listing will attract fresh capital or simply redirect what is already in the market.
The proceeds are earmarked for expansion. The plant runs at 650,000 barrels a day and has tested at 700,000, and Dangote intends to take it to 1.4 million within five years, which would make it the largest refinery in the world.
Foreign investors face a procedural obstacle. Buying requires a non-resident bank verification number, an account with the Central Securities Clearing System and a brokerage registered with the Nigerian commission, and setting all three up takes time.
There is no alternative venue for at least three years. Chief executive David Bird has said the company wants an audited public track record before pursuing a foreign listing, which pushes any London or Johannesburg option out to around 2029. Secondary listings on other African exchanges have been discussed but none confirmed.
Dangote has framed the offer as one for ordinary Nigerians rather than institutions, saying at the signing ceremony at the Eko Hotel on Sept. 7 that he wanted drivers, cooks and managers to be able to own a stake, and calling it the IPO for the people.
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