• Aliko says IPO already four times oversubscribed
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has extended the deadline for its initial public offering (IPO) by two weeks to October 27 to give more investors across Africa the opportunity to participate in what is expected to be the continent’s largest share sale.
The extension, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), moves the closing date from October 13, following efforts to expand access to the offer through stock exchanges and investment platforms in other African countries.
The company said yesterday that the additional time would enable it to broaden distribution channels, facilitate cross-border investments and allow prospective investors to complete account-opening procedures, identity verification and other regulatory requirements.
The IPO, which opened on September 14, is part of the plan by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to broaden ownership of the 700,000 barrels per day refinery by attracting as many as 10 million retail investors in Nigeria and other African countries.
The offering comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares. It is expected to raise approximately $1.6 billion, although the amount could increase to about $2.1 billion if an over-allotment option is fully exercised.
Confirming the extension, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the move followed ‘exceptionally strong interest’ from a broad spectrum of eligible investors across Africa and other international markets.
Since the launch of the offer, he stated that investor participation has underscored the growing confidence in Dangote Refinery’s long-term growth prospects and its strategic role in transforming Africa’s energy landscape.
“The IPO is going very well. We will extend the closing date because we want more of our African brothers and sisters to participate. Following our discussions with the Nairobi Stock Exchange, we have identified what we believe is the best way to facilitate participation. We are now trying to replicate that arrangement with other African exchanges to ensure wider participation…
“But when it comes to the amount of money we originally intended to raise, we have already received subscriptions amounting to more than three or four times that figure…So, it is not about the amount of money.
“It is about the number of people who will have the opportunity to participate in this offer. That means quite a lot to us,” the statement quoted Dangote as having said in a chat with media men at the facility.
The company said the additional two-week period will support ongoing market-access initiatives across African jurisdictions, including the expansion of distribution channels and the rollout of unsponsored depository receipt programmes designed to facilitate seamless cross-border investment.
It explained that it will also provide more time for prospective investors to complete account-opening procedures, identity verification processes, and other regulatory requirements necessary for participation in the offer.
Also speaking on the extension, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, David Bird, stated that the additional time will help extend more opportunities to additional investors.
He said: “We welcome the SEC’s approval of the extension, which will give more investors across Africa the opportunity to participate in the offer. From the outset, our ambition has been to enable as many people as possible to participate in the IPO and share in DPRP’s future growth. The additional time will help us extend that opportunity to more investors across Africa.”
The company noted that it remains highly encouraged by the level of investor engagement received across its target markets and believes the extension will ensure broader participation by retail, institutional and cross-border investors seeking to be part of the refinery’s next phase of growth.
THISDAY learnt that the proceeds are intended to support the expansion of the refinery complex in Lagos, which began processing crude oil in early 2024 and has become central to Nigeria’s ambition to reduce dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Exchanges across Africa had been in discussions with the company over arrangements to facilitate participation in the listing, which could value the business at close to $50 billion. Global depositary receipts have already been made available to investors in Kenya and Botswana, according to people familiar with the matter.
However, the offering’s prospectus indicates that the share sale is not registered as a public offering outside Nigeria, meaning investors in other countries must rely on applicable local regulations or access the shares through eligible investment platforms.
The arrangement highlights the challenges facing efforts to develop a pan-African investor base, as differences in regulations, trading infrastructure and investment procedures continue to complicate cross-border transactions.
Although the refinery is seeking to attract investors across the continent, the absence of a uniform framework for public offerings means that access to the shares may vary from one country to another.
The IPO is therefore being viewed as a major test of whether African exchanges and regulators can support large-scale equity offerings involving investors from multiple jurisdictions.
The listing is also intended to demonstrate the potential of African capital markets to mobilise domestic savings for large-scale industrial development, reducing reliance on foreign financing while expanding public participation in major businesses.
Meanwhile, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has said Africa needs to measure economic progress by the productive capacity it develops, the employment it generates and the resilience it builds, rather than relying on growth figures alone.
Dangote spoke at the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum in Egypt, where participants urged African governments to move beyond economic growth figures to building productive industries, creating jobs and retaining more value from the continent’s natural resources.
The two-day forum, held in New Alamein and officially launched by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, brought together heads of state, investors, financial institutions and private-sector leaders to explore partnerships capable of translating Africa’s economic potential into sustainable prosperity.
The meeting was convened by Egypt in collaboration with the African Union (AU), the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
Dangote argued that developing local industries, processing raw materials within the continent and producing higher-value goods would help African countries reduce their dependence on imported fuel, medicines and technology.
“Growth does not tell us enough. We should ask: what are we growing, how many productive jobs does it generate, and how much economic resilience does it leave behind?” Dangote said.
Dangote also identified fragmented regulations, inconsistent standards and cumbersome border procedures as major obstacles to businesses seeking to expand across African markets.
He stressed that stronger regional integration was necessary to enable African companies to achieve economies of scale, develop competitive industries and participate more effectively in global trade.
Other African leaders, financiers and business executives at the event called for increased mobilisation of domestic capital, stronger regional integration and greater investment in local industries to accelerate economic growth and reduce the continent’s dependence on imports.
President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, George Elombi, similarly called for greater African ownership of the continent’s economic future, highlighting the role of homegrown financial institutions in financing development priorities.
“Elombi highlighted Afreximbank’s support for African economies during periods of disruption and called for assessments of African financial institutions to reflect their performance, ownership models and development role,” the forum’s statement said.
He also commended Egypt’s longstanding support for the bank, describing New Alamein as a place where Africans could come together to determine their economic future.
Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, called for greater participation by African investors and businesses in financing the continent’s transformation, including through cross-border investments and regional value chains.
“We need more Africans investing in Africa. We need more African businesses able to go beyond national markets, build regional value chains and compete globally,” she said.
President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Abdullah Almusaibeeh, said stronger coordination among development finance institutions could unlock additional funding for infrastructure and other strategic projects.
“When we coordinate with other institutions, we can bring substantially more financing to a project than any one institution could provide alone,” he said, citing opportunities for cooperation with institutions including the Africa Finance Corporation and the Trade and Development Bank.
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, emphasised the importance of domestic production and value addition in creating jobs and building wealth across the continent. “Domestic transformation creates jobs, value addition and wealth,” he said.
Youssouf also called for measures to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises benefited from regional integration, including improved access to finance, payment systems using local currencies and financing guarantees.
The President of Burundi and Chairperson of the African Union, Évariste Ndayishimiye, urged international partners to view Africa as a centre of production, innovation and investment rather than primarily as a market for imported goods.
Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the forum’s success should ultimately be assessed by the commercial transactions and partnerships generated by its discussions.
The programme featured sessions on agriculture and food systems, energy, infrastructure and logistics, trade, digital innovation and healthcare markets, bringing together policymakers, investors and businesses to examine potential areas of collaboration.