Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery is targeting 10 million retail investors for its planned initial public offering, a figure that would more than double the retail participation recorded during Saudi Aramco’s landmark 2019 listing.
The refinery plans to raise up to ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion) through the share sale as it seeks funding for a major expansion of its refining capacity.
Business Insider Africa, citing Reuters, reported that Dangote Refinery CEO David Bird disclosed the 10 million-investor target while speaking at the Fujairah Energy Markets Forum.
If achieved, the target would put Dangote well above the more than 4.5 million retail investors who subscribed to Saudi Aramco’s 2019 IPO.
Dangote refinery IPO targets retail investors
Saudi Aramco’s listing became one of the biggest IPOs in history and attracted massive participation from individual investors.
Dangote is now aiming for a retail investor base more than twice as large.
The Dangote refinery IPO is expected to support the company’s plans to substantially expand the Lagos-based facility.
The refinery currently has crude-processing capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day, following an increase from its original 650,000-barrel capacity.
Dangote plans to add another 700,000 barrels per day of capacity.
That would bring the refinery to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
Expansion could create world’s largest refinery
If completed as planned, the expansion would make the Lagos facility the world’s largest refinery by processing capacity, according to the company’s plans.
The facility is already Africa’s largest refinery.
The proposed expansion is one of the main reasons behind the planned share sale. Dangote is seeking additional capital as it builds refining capacity and strengthens its position in international petroleum markets.
The company is therefore pursuing two major targets at the same time: attracting a record number of retail investors and doubling the refinery’s processing capacity.
Dangote looks to surpass Aramco retail record
Saudi Aramco attracted more than 4.5 million retail subscribers during its 2019 offering.
Its IPO eventually raised $29.4 billion after an over-allotment option was exercised.
Dangote’s planned offering is considerably smaller in terms of money raised. However, its 10 million-investor target would represent a significantly larger retail shareholder base.
Reaching that figure would give Dangote more than twice the retail participation recorded during Aramco’s listing.
The IPO and refinery expansion form part of Dangote’s wider effort to increase the scale of its energy business and strengthen Nigeria’s position in global refining.