Dangote Refinery Unveils Landmark N2.15trn IPO, Woos 10 Million Investors

Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting

LAGOS, LEKKI – Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has unveiled a N2.15 trillion Initial Public Offer (IPO), opening up an opportunity for millions of Nigerians and other Africans to own shares in its 700,000 barrels-per-day refinery.

The offer comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares.

This means investors can participate in the landmark offer with as little as N5,250.

The company is targeting about 10 million retail investors, a figure that would dwarf the Nigerian capital market’s previous record of approximately 181,000 retail participants in a single transaction.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, unveiled the offer in Lagos yesterday, describing it as an IPO deliberately structured to give ordinary Nigerians a stake in one of Africa’s biggest industrial projects.

According to him,“This is the IPO for the people. There is no segregation on who can own the shares. We want every human being living on the continent to be part of this action,”

The offer, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is expected to open on September 14 and close on October 13, subject to applicable regulatory conditions.

The shares are also expected to be listed on the Main Board of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Beyond widening ownership, the IPO is expected to support Dangote Refinery’s expansion programme, which will see its refining capacity doubled from 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028.

Dangote said the expansion would make the Lekki-based facility the world’s largest refinery.

“Today also shows that nothing is impossible for us to achieve once we are focused and determined,” he said, describing the refinery as Africa’s largest and the world’s largest single-train refinery.

He said the project was central to the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030, which focuses on accelerating Africa’s industrialisation, with energy security as a major priority.

“We have learned the hard way, and we cannot industrialise if we do not have energy security,” Dangote said.

He recalled that the refinery project began more than a decade ago, with financial institutions providing support even before the proposed site had been fully developed.

Dangote added that the group was extending its industrialisation drive beyond Nigeria, with expansion plans in countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia.

Group Managing Director of Vetiva Capital Management Limited, Chuka Eseka, said the IPO had been structured to encourage transparency, accountability and broad participation.

He said retail investors would be able to subscribe electronically through bank applications, online platforms and stockbrokers, while institutional investors could participate electronically or through receiving agents.

Managing Director of FirstCap, Ukandu Ukandu, said the company was targeting about 10 million retail investors.

Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Capital, Oladele Sotubo, said the structure would allow ordinary Nigerians to become shareholders in the refinery.

Eligible retail investors could also receive up to two additional shares under an incentive arrangement, subject to the conditions stated in the offer documents.

Vetiva Advisory Services Limited is Lead Issuing House and Lead Adviser, while Stanbic IBTC Capital and FirstCap are Joint Managers.

Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, David Bird, described the refinery as a “pan-African energy platform”, saying its operations had expanded beyond the Nigerian market.

“This is not just a refinery or petrochemical complex. This is truly a pan-African energy platform,” Bird said.

According to him, the refinery primarily serves Nigeria while prioritising West African markets and increasingly supplying international markets.

He said the facility had also become a major supplier of aviation fuel to Europe and had developed into a trading-led merchant refinery capable of processing different crude grades and supplying multiple markets.

Bird said the refinery’s performance over the past six months had helped cushion some supply disruptions linked to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

On the planned expansion, he said most of the preparatory work had been completed, with construction now the major outstanding phase.

“The planned expansion is fully sponsored, engineered and procured,” he said.

Bird added that the company expects to complete the construction by 2028, a milestone that would position the facility to emerge as the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex.

Located within the Lekki Free Zone, the refinery was inaugurated in 2023 and has since significantly expanded the supply of refined petroleum products to the Nigerian market and international destinations, strengthening its role in meeting growing energy demand and reshaping the country’s downstream petroleum sector.