Dangote Refinery Prices IPO at $47 Billion, Poised to Reshape Nigeria’s Markets

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the initial public offering of Dangote’s oil refinery at 525 naira per share, near the low end of its 500–595 naira range. The sale of 4.1 billion shares, opening September 14, could raise roughly 2.15 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion).

At the offer price, the refinery’s enlarged 124.23 billion shares value the company at about US$46.9 billion – well above the US$41.7 billion implied by July’s oversubscribed private placement. The IPO covers 3.3 percent of the company; combined with the earlier placement, that meets the group’s goal of floating 5–10 percent of shares.

Founder Aliko Dangote, who holds 92.3 percent of the refinery, stands to see his stake’s value rise sharply, potentially pushing his net worth toward US$58.7 billion and into the world’s top 20 richest.

The offering lets Nigerian investors buy shares in naira while receiving dividends in dollars, funded by export earnings – an unusual hedge against currency depreciation. Proceeds will help fund expansion of the plant’s capacity from 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day.