Dangote Refinery Plans October IPO Aimed at Retail Investors
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is preparing for an October 2026 initial public offering in Nigeria, with management saying the planned listing is being structured to give ordinary investors a meaningful opportunity to own part of the business.
Chief executive David Bird told Reuters that the company wants broad participation in what he described as a “people’s IPO,” as the refinery moves toward what could become the largest stock-market listing in African history.
A person familiar with the process told Reuters that an application for an offering of around $5 billion has been submitted to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission. The final size of the IPO has not yet been decided, and Bird declined to confirm either the proposed amount or the refinery’s valuation.
That distinction is important because unofficial social-media posts have already circulated specific subscription prices and offer dates. Those figures should not be treated as confirmed. Nigeria’s SEC previously ordered a halt to unauthorised promotion of a purported Dangote refinery securities offering in June, before the current application process progressed.
The refinery completed a private placement in July that valued the business at roughly $40 billion, according to Reuters. Africa Finance Corporation said a group of strategic investors participated and demand significantly exceeded the shares available.
Dangote’s refinery has also become increasingly important outside Nigeria. Bird said it became Europe’s largest supplier of jet fuel in June and July, as disruptions linked to the Iran conflict pushed buyers to seek alternative supplies.
The company currently supplies most of Nigeria’s petrol and diesel requirements and all of its jet-fuel demand, according to Reuters.
Proceeds from the planned listing are expected to support further expansion. Dangote intends to increase refining capacity from its current operating level of about 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day within three years, using a combination of IPO proceeds and debt.
The group’s own corporate materials describe the Lekki complex as Africa’s largest refinery and the world’s largest single-train refining facility.
For international investors, however, a foreign listing is not imminent.
Bird said Dangote wants at least three years of established production and financial performance before taking the refinery to an overseas exchange. London has previously been mentioned as a possible destination, but no foreign listing has been formally announced.
That means the immediate focus remains Nigeria — and potentially one of the most consequential public offerings ever attempted on an African exchange.
