Dangote Refinery IPO set for N525 per share

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote said that the long-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) for the continent’s largest oil facility—the Dangote Refinery will open on September 14.

The stock will be offered at N525 per share, he said.

The IPO will involve the issuance of 4.1 billion shares. The pricing structure targets a net capital raise of $1.55 billion to $1.80 billion.

The IPO is coming at an indicative price range of N500 to N595 ($0.38 to $0.45) per share, with a mid-point valuation based on N525 per share raising approximately $1.5 billion.

The offer includes a 15 percent over-allotment (green shoe) option to accommodate excess demand from institutional investors, domestic pension funds, and regional African buyers.

The order book is scheduled to open formally on September 14, 2026. Primary proceeds are earmarked to fund the expansion of the Lagos mega-refinery from its current 700,000 bpd operational baseline to 1.4 million bpd.

“So our dream is that we want to make sure we double the capacity of the refinery … which will take us to 1.4 million barrels per day. The IPO will open in the next 10 to 12 days,” Dangote told investors and analysts in Botswana, while visiting the Southern African country.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a massive milestone for African industrialisation and global energy markets. Located in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria, it stands as the largest single-train refinery in the world.

Read also: Market eyes Sept. 14 date for Dangote Refinery IPO

The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery reached full nameplate capacity in February and has already tested output at 700,000 barrels per day.

Buoyed by strong operational performance, the enterprise’s private funding rounds and upcoming public offerings peg its valuation between $40 billion and $50 billion.

Having recently wrapped up a heavily oversubscribed $2.5 billion private placement, the upcoming $5 billion IPO is on track to be the largest equity market listing in African history, primarily listing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) with cross-border capital attraction.

The Dangote Group plans to float approximately 5 percent to 10 percent of the refinery’s total equity through the initial public offering (IPO) on the NGX.

Aliko Dangote has previously indicated plans to structure a unique dividend framework for the refinery.

The proposal aims to allow investors to purchase shares in Naira on the NGX while receiving dividends paid out in US Dollars, supported by the refinery’s substantial foreign exchange (FX) earning export streams (such as petrochemicals and refined fuel exports).

Dangote Petroleum Refinery formally submitted its initial public offering application to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Emomotimi Agama, director general of the SEC confirmed receipt of the filing and stated that the commission sees no major regulatory hurdles or obstacles that would derail the process.

Financial analysts estimate that a single listing of this magnitude could instantly boost total NGX market capitalisation by 30 percent to 40 percent, with the refinery alone accounting for roughly a quarter of the exchange’s entire total value.

Beyond its core Lagos base, the Dangote Group is leveraging its refining success to build a broader pan-African energy presence, notably spearheading plans for a major new coastal refinery project in Kenya to service the East African market.

The businessman also said the secondary listing of Dangote Cement, another flagship company in his industrial empire, on the London Stock Exchange would most likely be in October, a move that could broaden its access to international investors and capital.

Dangote is also planning to build a new refinery on Kenya’s coast in partnership with East African governments. The project, which is expected to take up to three years to complete, would supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring countries, helping reduce East Africa’s reliance on imported fuels.

It would mark Dangote Group’s biggest refining investment outside Nigeria. “We are launching it on September 30,” he said.

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date

Open In Whatsapp