The offering, which opened on September 14, comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at 525 naira each. If fully subscribed, the total value of the offer stands at 2.1525 trillion naira. Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, stated that subscriptions have already reached more than three to four times the amount the company originally intended to raise. While the company has not disclosed the exact final subscription figure, a calculation based on Dangote’s remarks suggests potential interest of approximately 8.61 trillion naira.
“The issuer has received very strong interest from a broad range of eligible investors across Africa and other jurisdictions,” Dangote said in a statement. He clarified that the extension is not driven by a need to raise additional capital, but rather by a strategic desire to increase participation among African investors. “It is not about the amount of money. It is about the number of people who will have the opportunity to participate in this offer,” Dangote noted during a tour of the refinery near Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub.
Chief Executive Officer David Bird explained that the additional time will facilitate the completion of account-opening procedures, identity verification, and other regulatory requirements necessary for cross-border participation. The company is currently in discussions with exchanges across Africa to establish structures that will allow local investors access to the listing. Global depositary receipts have already been made available to investors in Kenya and Botswana, and management indicated plans to replicate similar arrangements with other African stock exchanges to ensure wider participation.
Expanding Access Across the Continent
The refinery’s leadership emphasized that the primary objective of the IPO was to enable as many individuals as possible to own shares in the business and share in its future growth. Bird stated, “We welcome the SEC’s approval of the extension, which will give more investors across Africa the opportunity to participate in the Offer. From the outset, our ambition has been to enable as many people as possible to participate in the IPO and share in DPRP’s future growth.”
Officials described efforts to expand access through wider distribution channels and unsponsored depository receipt programmes designed to simplify cross-border investment. The extension provides prospective investors with the necessary time to navigate jurisdictional regulatory hurdles, a key barrier for retail and institutional investors in markets outside Nigeria.
The listing positions the refinery as a major anchor for the Nigerian capital market and a benchmark for large-scale equity offerings in emerging markets. By extending the window, the company aims to solidify its shareholder base across the continent, leveraging the high demand to create a more diversified and internationally recognized investor profile for the asset.
The offering remains open until October 27. Investors in participating markets must complete their regulatory compliance and account verification processes within this period to be eligible for allocation. The final allocation of shares and the listing of the stock on the Nigerian Exchange will follow the conclusion of the subscription period, subject to regulatory approvals.
