LAGOS, Nigeria — Aliko Dangote opened an initial public offering for his oil refinery on Monday, September 14, 2026, giving public investors access to a roughly 3 per cent stake in a sale that could raise as much as $2.1 billion.
The offering, launched at the Nigerian Exchange in Lagos, is the largest share sale undertaken in Africa.
Its proceeds are intended to help finance an expansion of the refinery’s production capacity.
Dangote, Africa’s richest person, has promoted the sale as a “people’s IPO”.
He said its purpose was to “democratise wealth creation” by allowing ordinary investors to share in the refinery’s performance.
An Entry Point of 10 Shares
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at 525 naira each.
Full subscription to the base offer would raise 2.15 trillion naira, or about $1.6 billion.
The company could increase the proceeds to approximately $2.1 billion if demand exceeds the available shares and it exercises an option to enlarge the offering.
Investors may buy as few as 10 shares through financial technology services and other digital investment platforms.
The minimum purchase would cost about $4, based on the exchange rate used in the offering.
That entry requirement is lower than the minimum imposed during several previous offerings by large Nigerian companies.
MTN Nigeria’s 2021 retail share sale required an investment equivalent to about $8 at the exchange rate then in effect.
Early demand placed pressure on some investment services.
Bamboo, a Nigerian investment platform, said unusually heavy traffic associated with the refinery offering prevented some customers from accessing their accounts.
Chris Chijioke, a Lagos business owner, told Reuters that he intended to purchase 2,000 shares. Although he had concerns about the price, he said Dangote’s business record supported his decision to invest.
Public Offer Carries a Higher Valuation
The public offering values the refinery business at approximately $49 billion, according to its prospectus.
That valuation is higher than the one applied during a private placement in July, when institutional investors paid $2.5 billion for a 6 per cent interest. That transaction valued the company at about $40 billion.
David Bird, the refinery’s chief executive, said the institutional investors received a discount because they accepted conditions that included restrictions preventing them from selling their shares for a specified period.
The Africa Finance Corporation participated in the private placement. It said other investors included sovereign wealth funds and development finance institutions.
Dangote has also said Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the state-owned energy company commonly known as ADNOC, expressed interest in investing in the refinery.
He declined to provide details, citing confidentiality agreements.
Expansion Would Double Refining Capacity
The refinery was constructed for about $20 billion on the outskirts of Lagos and began operating in 2024. It can process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
Dangote plans to increase capacity to 1.4 million barrels a day by 2029. The wider expansion is expected to cost approximately $14.3 billion and includes additional refining and petrochemical units.
The new facilities are intended to increase the range of petroleum products manufactured at the complex, including different grades of diesel, and reduce dependence on imported petrochemicals.
The refinery reported an after-tax profit of $1.82 billion during the first half of 2026, following a loss of $476 million for the whole of 2025.
It has also benefited from disruptions to international fuel supplies associated with the war in Iran.
Increased demand has allowed the refinery to sell jet fuel to markets in Western Europe, while supplying petrol and other petroleum products domestically and elsewhere.
Further Listings Are Planned
Dangote said he ultimately intended to list every company within his industrial conglomerate, whose businesses include cement, sugar, and salt.
He also raised the possibility of a secondary listing for the refinery business in the United States within three to four years.
The public offering represents the first opportunity for individual investors to acquire a direct interest in the refinery.
It also subjects retail buyers to a higher company valuation than the one accepted by institutional investors two months earlier.
