Abuja: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Industries Ltd., has announced the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (FZE), aiming to democratise wealth creation. This announcement was made during the ‘Facts Behind the Offer’ presentation and the official opening ceremony for the refinery’s IPO in Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. formally launched the N2.15 trillion IPO of FZE, offering 4.1 billion new ordinary shares at N525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at N5,250. The offer is expected to close on October 13, as detailed in the prospectus. Dangote emphasized that this event marks a historic milestone for Nigeria’s capital market, the Dangote Group, and Africa. The IPO will allow ordinary Nigerians and international investors to own shares in one of Africa’s major industrial projects.
Dangote stated that the IPO is not just about listing a company but about expanding ownership of a significant industrial asset in Nigeria and Africa. The decision to go public was driven by the desire to enable more people to benefit from the refinery’s prosperity. Despite having sufficient resources for expansion, the group aimed to raise 2.5 billion dollars through the IPO and private placement. The strong demand from private placement led to applications of about 2.5 billion dollars, necessitating the return of about 1.2 billion dollars to investors.
The broad-based ownership of the IPO is expected to provide investors with opportunities to grow their wealth, particularly benefiting Nigerians with financial obligations abroad, as dividends will be paid in dollars. Dangote urged Nigerians and Africans to seize this opportunity, noting the refinery’s potential to become Africa’s largest company by the year’s end. He highlighted the refinery’s capability as a world-class asset, supplying both domestic and international markets, and its role as a major supplier of aviation fuel to Europe.
In addition to expanding its petrochemical operations, including producing polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene, the group is exploring opportunities outside Nigeria, such as plans to establish a refinery in Lamu, Kenya. This expansion aims to position African businesses to attract substantial global investment. Dangote emphasized the importance of building refining and petrochemical capacity in Africa, given the global demand for aviation fuel.
The Dangote Refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone, has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and is one of the world’s largest single-train refineries. The IPO was lauded by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings, and Dr Umar Kwairanga, Chairman of NGX Group, as a demonstration of the capacity of Nigeria’s capital market to support large-scale enterprises and instill investor confidence.
Kwairanga emphasized the need for deeper capital markets to connect African savings with enterprises that can compete globally. He praised Dangote for taking the company to the capital market and highlighted NGX’s capability to support similar large-scale transactions in the future. Meanwhile, Mr. David Bird, CEO of Dangote Refinery, provided an overview of the refinery’s operations.