Dangote Refinery IPO attracts billions of naira from investors within minutes

Dangote Refinery’s Initial Public Offering, IPO, has attracted billions of naira in subscriptions from thousands of investors within minutes of opening, the Chairman of Access Holdings, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has said.

Aig-Imoukhuede made the disclosure on Monday at the Facts Behind the Figures event held at the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, in Lagos, following the opening of the landmark share offer.

The Access Holdings chairman, who is a former chairman of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, described the offering as a historic development for Nigeria’s capital market and commended Dangote Refinery for the scale of the transaction.

“With this particular, sterling, historic offer and what I have seen in the data room, where already billions of naira have been subscribed by thousands of investors within minutes or under an hour, you are a blessing to humanity,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.

The strong early subscription came shortly after the refinery formally opened its IPO on Monday morning, with investors rushing to participate in what is being described as the biggest initial public share sale in Africa.

Billions pour in as IPO opens

NGX Chairman Umaru Kwairanga corroborated Aig-Imoukhuede’s disclosure, saying more than N10 billion had already been subscribed shortly after the market opened.

“From eight o’clock today, we are talking of over 10 billion and above that have already joined,” Kwairanga said.

The IPO is targeting $1.6 billion from investors across Africa, with the company aiming to attract as many as 10 million shareholders.

The offer opened on September 14 and will run until October 13, while the planned listing of the refinery is expected to take place in November.

The massive offer is expected to have a significant impact on Nigeria’s capital market, given the size and valuation of the Dangote Refinery.

Refinery seeks expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day

The proceeds from the IPO are expected to be used to expand the refinery’s nameplate capacity from its current 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2030.

The planned expansion would further increase the refinery’s processing capacity and strengthen its position as one of the major industrial investments in Nigeria and Africa.

The IPO values Dangote Refinery at approximately $49 billion. Analysts expect the potential listing of the corporation to significantly increase the market capitalisation of the NGX.

The NGX market capitalisation stood at N157.6 trillion at the opening of trading on Monday, meaning the refinery’s listing could potentially increase the size of the Nigerian equities market by about one-third.

Dangote opens historic market event

Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, officially declared the market and the Facts Behind the Figures ceremony open at about 9:35am West African Time in Lagos.

The event attracted prominent figures from Nigeria’s financial, business and political sectors, as well as representatives from other African capital markets.

Among those present were the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Refinery, David Bird; Vice President, Oil and Gas and Fertiliser, Dangote Group, Edwin Devakumar; Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Stock Exchange, Frank Nwiti; and Chairperson of the Botswana Stock Exchange, Neo Mooki.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, was also among the dignitaries at the event.

Other notable attendees included Jim Ovia, founder and chairman of Zenith Bank; Benedict Okey Oramah, immediate past President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank; and Zenith Bank Chief Executive Officer, Adaora Umeoji.