Dangote Group advances IPO preparations for refinery business

Aliko Dangote just moved one step closer to pulling off the biggest IPO Africa has ever seen. On September 7, the billionaire and his advisory team signed registration documents in Lagos for the initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, a formality that carries enormous weight for Nigerian capital markets.

The IPO is set to offer 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at ₦525 (roughly $0.40) each. If fully subscribed, that works out to a base raise of approximately ₦2.15 trillion, or about $1.63 billion. There’s also a 15% greenshoe option on top of that, meaning the total haul could climb even higher.

The numbers behind the offering

The signing ceremony took place at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, following approval of the offer terms by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission earlier that week. The order book is scheduled to open on September 14.

This isn’t Dangote’s first fundraising rodeo for the refinery. A prior private placement pulled in $2.5 billion and was oversubscribed by 3.7 times. That round also secured $1 billion in underwriting support.

Recent valuations peg the refinery’s worth somewhere between $39 billion and $47 billion. The facility’s initial construction cost was approximately $20 billion.

CEO David Bird has branded the offering a “people’s IPO,” a label designed to signal that Nigerian and African retail investors won’t be shut out of the deal. There are no current plans for a foreign listing, with that possibility parked at least three years down the road.

A refinery that reshaped Nigeria’s fuel equation

The Dangote Refinery launched operations in 2024 after nearly a decade of construction. Now operational, the facility is processing crude at a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, with tests pushing throughput as high as 700,000 bpd. Dangote plans to use IPO proceeds to help fund an expansion that would double capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.

What this means for African capital markets

The decision to hold off on a foreign listing for at least three years concentrates early liquidity on the Nigerian Exchange. For international investors who want exposure, the only path for now runs through Lagos.

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