Aliko Dangote has launched an initial public offering for his Lagos-based refinery, seeking $1.6 billion from retail investors across Africa in what the supplied report describes as the continent’s largest IPO of its kind.
The offering values the refinery at approximately $49 billion. Investors can purchase a minimum 10-share bundle for 5,250 naira, or about $4, according to the report. Dangote will retain 87% ownership, while the refinery is not scheduled to be publicly listed in Nigeria until November.
Dangote presented the offering as a way for ordinary people to participate in the refinery’s ownership. “We are all going to fully share all our prosperity with the people and that is why we call it the people’s IPO,” he said at the launch at the Nigerian Exchange Group in Lagos, according to the source.
The sale quickly generated heavy traffic on some Nigerian digital investment platforms, with at least two briefly going offline. Titi Adetoye, an Abuja-based operations manager who said she hoped to buy as many as 1,000 shares, told The Associated Press that she was relying heavily on Dangote’s reputation and the refinery’s status as Africa’s largest.
The refinery began production in 2024 and, according to the report, changed Nigeria’s position from an importer of refined oil to an exporter. Nigeria had long depended on foreign refining because state-run facilities were frequently operating below capacity or had remained inactive because of poor maintenance. The Dangote facility reached its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day earlier this year.
The IPO has also prompted questions about its valuation and ownership structure. At about $49 billion, the refinery’s stated value is more than twice its $19 billion construction cost, although refinery officials have rejected suggestions that the valuation is inflated. Joachim McEbong of Control Risks questioned whether an offering could be described as people-driven when Dangote retains 87% of the company.
Abdulkabeer Tijani, a Lagos-based stock investor, said the 525-naira share price could already be too high. Mohammed Saidu of TrustBanc nonetheless called it potentially game-changing for Nigeria’s markets and predicted millions of new investors. Dangote has also announced plans to raise capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day and proposed building a refinery in Kenya by 2030.