Dangote Petroleum Refinery has formally launched what is set to become Africa’s largest-ever initial public offering, as Africa’s biggest refinery seeks to raise about 2.15 trillion naira ($1.63 billion) to support a major expansion of its operations.
Aliko Dangote and the company’s advisers signed the IPO documents on Monday, September 7, at Eko Hotels in Lagos, formally setting the process in motion. The offering will comprise 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at 525 naira each.
The subscription period is scheduled to open on September 14 and close on October 13, according to the IPO timetable presented at the signing ceremony. The shares are expected to begin trading in late November.
The offer is being positioned as a retail-focused IPO, with investors able to subscribe for as few as 10 shares, worth 5,250 naira. Dangote has said the low entry threshold is intended to allow ordinary Nigerians, including workers, drivers and other employees, to participate in ownership of the refinery.
The listing comes as Dangote plans a $14.3 billion expansion that would nearly double the refinery’s processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, from about 700,000 barrels per day currently, according to the company’s IPO prospectus cited by Reuters.
Built at a cost of about $20 billion near Lagos, the refinery began operations in 2024 and has become a major player in Nigeria’s fuel market. The facility is designed to reduce the country’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products while creating capacity for exports to African and international markets.
The IPO also comes as the refinery’s financial performance has improved sharply. According to the prospectus, the company recorded an after-tax profit of $1.82 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with a loss of $476 million for the whole of 2025.
Investors will have the option of subscribing to additional shares if demand is strong. The IPO includes a greenshoe option allowing the company to increase the number of shares offered by up to 30%, according to Reuters.
The transaction follows approval from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, which registered 120.13 billion existing ordinary shares in the refinery company. Based on the approved offer price and share structure, Reuters estimates the company’s valuation at around $47 billion.
The scale of the transaction makes it a landmark event for Nigeria’s capital markets and could broaden public participation in one of Africa’s largest industrial assets.
For Dangote, however, the IPO is about more than raising capital. The company is seeking to finance the next phase of the refinery’s expansion while widening ownership among Nigerian and African investors.
The offering will test investor appetite for one of Africa’s most ambitious industrial projects and could mark a major step in the development of Nigeria’s equity market.
