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Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote's stake in his oil refinery will fall to about 84.4% from 87.3% once the shares sold in its record initial public offering are issued.
Dangote owns 104.83 billion shares of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE through Dangote Oil Refining Co., Dangote Industries Ltd. and other companies he controls, out of 120.13 billion shares now in issue. The refinery is selling 4.1 billion new shares at ₦525 each, which will take the total to 124.23 billion. Because the offer creates new shares rather than selling existing ones, Dangote keeps every share he owns, and his percentage falls as the company's share count rises.
At the offer price, his holding is worth about ₦55 trillion ($40.3 billion), and the refinery is valued at about ₦65.2 trillion ($47.8 billion).
More shares possible
His stake could fall slightly further. The refinery can sell up to 30% more shares than planned if regulators approve, because demand far exceeded the amount on offer. Selling the full extra allotment would raise the number of new shares to about 5.33 billion and cut Dangote's stake to about 83.6%. The company has not said whether it will use the option.
The offer sought about ₦2.15 trillion ($1.58 billion) and drew orders worth about ₦6.4 trillion ($4.7 billion), roughly three times the target, when it closed on Oct. 27, making it the largest share sale in Nigeria's history. Dangote said this week that investors from 200 countries, including all 54 African nations, took part. When the offer closed, the company reported applications from 120 countries.
The basis of allotment is due to go to the Securities and Exchange Commission by Nov. 10, with approval targeted for Nov. 17. The new shares will then be credited to investors' accounts, and trading on the Nigerian Exchange is expected to begin in early December. Investors who receive fewer shares than they asked for will get refunds.
Still firmly in control
Even after the sale, Dangote will own more than four of every five shares in the refinery, leaving him in full control of its board and strategy. He has said he wants ordinary Africans to own part of the plant and will use money from the offer to help expand it to 1.4 million barrels of crude a day by 2029, from 650,000 barrels now.
He has followed a similar model at Dangote Cement Plc, the Lagos-listed cement maker in which he owns about 87% after more than a decade on the exchange.
Dangote, 69, is Africa's richest person, with a fortune that Forbes puts at $55.4 billion. The $20 billion refinery at the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos is the world's largest single-train plant.
Figures were converted at ₦1,365 to the dollar.
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