Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote opened his refinery to public ownership Monday with plans to raise $1.6 billion from retail investors across the continent in Africa’s biggest initial public offering, or IPO. Dangote, Africa's richest man, dubbed the IPO one "for the people” and said he wants everyone to be able to own a share. Retail investors can buy a 10-share bundle in the sprawling Lagos-based refinery for 5,250 naira ($4), the minimum investment.
Dangote retains 87% ownership of the refinery, Africa's largest. The refinery's scale and potential returns, especially at a time when global oil prices have risen following the US-Iran war, have generated excitement among retail investors. Although the refinery stock won’t be publicly listed in Nigeria until November, its IPO launch resulted in heavy traffic on some of the country’s digital investment platforms, with at least two knocked offline briefly.
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I am placing a lot of emphasis on his name and on the refinery being the biggest in Africa,” Titi Adetoye, an Abuja-based operations manager who hopes to buy up to 1,000 shares, told The . Nigeria has relied for many decades on foreign refining of its oil due to decrepit state-run refineries, many of which operate below capacity or have remained stagnant for years due to poor maintenance. But when the $19 billion refinery began production in 2024, it transformed the energy-rich country of more than 210 million people from an importer of refined oil into an exporter.
Saidu said he predicted there would be millions of new investors from the IPO. The IPO has raised questions about Dangote retaining significant ownership and the refinery's purported valuation after the offering. At $49 billion, the valuation is more than twice what it cost to build it.
The refinery's officials have denied that its valuation is inflated. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. The IPO also has its sceptics.
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