Dangote Refinery Targets October Listing For $5bn Pan‑African IPO

The Dangote Oil Refinery is planning to conduct its Initial Public Offering in October 2026, as part of a $5 billion pan‑African initial public offering, the company said on Tuesday, in a move that would rank among the continent’s largest equity raises and deepen capital markets for the oil and gas sector, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.

The IPO, aimed at both domestic and international investors, is intended to finance expansion, repay debt and broaden share ownership across Africa, company officials added.

The IPO is being marketed as a pan‑African investment opportunity to attract investors across the continent.

Company advisers are still finalising details on how regional participation will be organised. That includes whether investors on specific African exchanges will receive pre‑allocated shares, or whether regional demand will be accommodated through an open-offer structure determined by total subscription.

At present, sources indicate there is no plan to cross‑list the offering on multiple regional exchanges, although some distribution mechanics remain subject to change as the transaction is finalised.

Reported terms would allow investors to receive proceeds in either Nigerian naira or U.S. dollars, a flexibility intended to broaden appeal to both local and international buyers.

The planned IPO, whose proposed timeline is fairly tight according to the source, has attracted interest across the continent.

Stock exchanges in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda have held a series of meetings with the refinery’s advisers in recent months to take part in the deal.

Kenya’s capital markets could raise as much as $500 million of the Dangote IPO target, the source said, adding that there is “tremendous” appetite for the issue among local investors such as pension funds.

A second source with direct knowledge of the deal said Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, which has submitted its IPO application to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, is expected to receive approval in the coming weeks and be able to publish a prospectus in September.

The first source said the IPO’s target was $5 billion but cautioned that the final figure would depend on what the Nigerian regulator approved as the primary listing will be on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

That target would account for just over four per cent of Nigeria’s main All Share Index, whose total capitalisation stood at $116 billion on Tuesday.

The Dangote Oil Refinery, built at an estimated cost of $20 billion, began commercial operations in 2024 and reached full operating capacity earlier this year. The refinery is part of the vertically integrated Dangote Group and is intended to supply refined petroleum products to domestic and regional markets.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) holds a stake of just over seven per cent in the refinery.