The initial public offering (IPO) of Africa’s largest oil refinery, the Dangote Refinery, is set to open within the next 10 to 12 days.
Billionaire founder Aliko Dangote disclosed the timeline on Thursday while addressing investors and analysts in Botswana.
The share sale is expected to raise approximately $5bn (£3.8bn), placing it on track to become the largest public offering in Africa’s history.
“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,” Mr. Dangote said. “The IPO will open in the next 10 to 12 days.”
The 650,000-barrel-per-day facility, located near Lagos, reached its full nameplate capacity in February and has since tested production at 700,000 barrels per day.
.The planned expansion aims to position the refinery as a major supplier of refined petroleum products across African and global markets, capitalizing on strong refining margins driven by global energy market disruptions.
The flotation follows a private placement that raised $2.5bn earlier this year to strengthen the company’s balance sheet. The offer attracted strong demand from institutional investors, resulting in the issue being 3.7 times oversubscribed.
Co-financial advisers Marob Strategies and Lilium Capital Group also recently secured a $400m underwriting commitment ahead of the public launch.
According to an information memorandum released by the firm, the entire refining complex is valued at $39.1bn.
London listing and East Africa expansion
Mr. Dangote also revealed plans for a secondary listing of Dangote Cement on the London Stock Exchange in October, aiming to widen access to international capital markets.
Additionally, the group plans to begin construction on a new oil refinery in Kenya on 30 September in partnership with East African governments. The project, expected to take three years to complete, will mark the conglomerate’s largest refining investment outside Nigeria.
Speaking on the group’s capital strategy, Dangote Refinery Chief Executive David Bird confirmed that the refinery will focus exclusively on its domestic listing on the Nigerian Exchange for the immediate future.
Mr. Bird stated that the company will not seek an overseas listing for at least three years, prioritizing a solid operational and financial track record at home before entering foreign stock markets.
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