Dangote Refinery set for landmark IPO

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Industries Limited, has disclosed that the initial public offering, IPO, of the Dangote Refinery will open within the next few days.

Dangote said this during the week while speaking to investors and analysts in Botswana.

The $20 billion refinery, Africa’s largest, is expected to raise about $5 billion through the IPO, which could become the largest public offering on the continent.

“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. The IPO will ​open in the next 10 to 12 days,” Dangote ⁠said.

The Lagos-based refinery hit its full designed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February and has since pushed output beyond that mark, touching 700,000 barrels per day in tests.

Dangote does not release margin figures for the plant, though refiners worldwide have posted stronger profits lately as Middle East instability drove buyers toward alternative fuel sources.

Beyond the refinery listing, Dangote used the Botswana trip to lay out a wider set of moves for his industrial empire. Dangote Cement is set for a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, likely in October, a step meant to open the company up to a broader pool of international investors.

He also confirmed a long-mooted expansion beyond Nigeria’s borders: a new refinery on Kenya’s coast, built with East African governments as partners, to supply refined fuel to Kenya and its neighbours and cut the region’s dependence on imports.

It would be the group’s biggest refining bet outside Nigeria yet, with construction expected to take up to three years.

Agency report