Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote extends his $1.6 billion refinery IPO

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has extended the share sale in his oil refinery by two weeks, saying he wants more investors from across Africa to take part in what is set to be the continent's largest initial public offering.

The offer of 4.1 billion shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, worth about ₦2.15 trillion, or $1.6 billion, will now close on Oct. 27 instead of Oct. 13, after Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission approved the change.

"The IPO is going very well," Dangote told reporters at the refinery near Lagos, according to Vanguard. "We will extend the closing date because we want more of our African brothers and sisters to participate."

He said the refinery had already received orders worth "more than three or four times" the amount it set out to raise. "So, it is not about the amount of money," he said. "It is about the number of people who will have the opportunity to participate in this offer." The company has not published subscription figures.

Opening the door to other African markets

The refinery said the extension responds to "very strong interest from a broad range of eligible investors across Africa and other jurisdictions." The extra time will let it widen its distribution channels, roll out depositary receipt programs and give investors time to open accounts and complete identity and regulatory checks.

Kenya has already cleared its residents to invest. The Capital Markets Authority approved a route through global depositary receipts that will trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, with up to $300.4 million of the offer, close to a fifth of the total, set aside for East African investors, according to Kenyan media.

"Following our discussions with the Nairobi Stock Exchange, we have identified what we believe is the best way to facilitate participation," Dangote said. "We are now trying to replicate that arrangement with other African exchanges."

David Bird, chief executive of the refinery, said the extension "will give more investors across Africa the opportunity to participate in the Offer."

Under the revised timetable, the results will be collated by Nov. 3 and the basis of allotment sent to the SEC by Nov. 10. Trading is expected to begin about 15 business days after the shares are allotted.

Africa's biggest share sale

The shares are priced at ₦525 each, or about 39 cents, with a minimum purchase of 10 shares. The offer represents about 3.4% of the company and values the refinery at about $47 billion, according to Reuters calculations. Dangote and his affiliates own about 80.7%, state oil company NNPC Ltd. holds 6.8% and Greenview International holds 6.5%.

The sale would eclipse MTN Nigeria's $876 million listing in 2019 as the biggest IPO on the Nigerian Exchange, and it could reach about $2.1 billion if an overallotment option is used. The refinery is aiming for as many as 10 million retail investors, in a country where fewer than 5% of adults invest in the stock market.

Akin Dawodu, Citi's head of banking for sub-Saharan Africa, said the deal could draw investors back to African bourses. "The size of the stock exchanges across Africa, Johannesburg excepted, is very small relative to the capital available," he told Reuters. "We have to find a way to unlock that."

The Aliko Dangote Foundation is also giving away shares worth about ₦40 billion, or $30 million, to tertiary students and vulnerable women. Eligible students who buy 10 shares, costing ₦5,250, or about $3.94, receive 10 more free.

Doubling the refinery

The money will help fund a $14.3 billion expansion that would double the refinery's capacity to 1.4 million barrels a day by 2029. The plant, which cost about $20 billion and began operating in 2024, was designed to process 650,000 barrels a day and now runs at about 700,000 barrels a day.

"We are targeting for three years, and probably we may be even doing faster," said Devakumar Edwin, a group vice president at Dangote Industries.

Dangote is also planning a separate 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Kenya, which would bring his total refining capacity to 2.1 million barrels a day.