The President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, asserted on Monday at the “Facts Behind the Offer” presentation and opening gong ceremony for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, FZE’s Initial Public Offering, IPO, in Lagos, that the goal was not primarily about raising funds, as the group already had sufficient resources for its expansion.
Speaking at the event where the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, formally opened the N2.2 trillion offer, Dangote submitted that the aim is to democratise wealth creation by giving Nigerians and investors globally an opportunity to own shares in one of Africa’s major industrial projects.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that the refinery’s IPO, which opened Monday September 14, 2026, is offering 4.1 billion new ordinary shares at N525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at N5,250.
Describing the offer as a historic moment for Nigeria’s capital market, the Dangote Group and Africa, Dangote said: “It would enable ordinary Nigerians and investors globally to own shares in one of Africa’s major industrial projects.
“What initially belongs to a country, begins in a deeper sense, now belongs to the people. Today is such a moment; today is a historic day.
“The IPO is not simply about listing a company but about creating a new possibility for Nigeria and Africa by broadening ownership of a major industrial asset.
“The decision to offer shares to the public was driven by the desire to allow more people to participate in and benefit from the prosperity created by the refinery.
“An asset of this magnitude should not create value for only a very few people. It should create value for millions of people, not only Nigerians, but all over the world.”
According to him, the group had planned to raise $2.5 billion through private placement and the IPO, comprising $1.5 billion from the IPO and $1 billion from private placement, adding that the private placement attracted significant demand, with applications of about $2.5 billion for the $1 billion offer.
Stating that the strong demand made it necessary to return about $1.2 billion to investors after allocations were made, Dangote posited that “We already met all our demands with the private placement. Coming back now to the IPO is actually about making sure that the public can get part of these benefits.”
He said the broad-based ownership would provide investors with an opportunity to preserve and grow their wealth through exposure to a business whose revenues are largely dollar-linked, emphasising that this could particularly benefit Nigerians with financial obligations abroad, including payment of school fees, as investors would receive dividends in dollars.
Encouraging Nigerians and Africans to seize the opportunity to acquire shares as the refinery could become Africa’s largest company by the end of the year, Dangote stated that “You are buying a future. It is a company that is not only about revenue, but profitability.”
He likened Africa to “a scratch card,” saying “Unless you scratch it, you don’t see the use of it. The opportunities are immense.”
Dangote thanked President Bola Tinubu for his bold step in removing fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, saying, “I want to thank him for taking a lot of bold steps by removing the subsidy and democratising the exchange rate… So, we thank you very much for your leadership and we will continue to partner with the government to ensure that we make this country great and we make Africa great.”
In his speech, Chairman, NGX Group, Dr Umar Kwairanga, said the IPO demonstrated the capacity of Nigeria’s capital market to support businesses at a global scale, noting that the offer of 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per share to raise about N2.15 trillion, was significant in scale and importance.
Kwairanga stated that the transaction was an opportunity to demonstrate the capacity of the capital market to support enterprise and provide investors with confidence in the integrity, transparency and efficiency of the market.
He described Dangote Petroleum Refinery as one of the most significant industrial investment projects on the continent and a demonstration of what Nigerian enterprise could conceive, finance and execute.
According to him, deeper and more effective capital markets were required to connect African savings with African enterprises and finance businesses capable of competing globally.
“Transactions of this scale,” he said, “strengthen our proposition and demonstrate what our markets can achieve when capital, enterprise and ambition come together.”
Asserting that the development of Africa required Africans to actively participate in businesses and investments on the continent, the NGX Chairman declared that “Dangote has built Africa. Now, we are going to exercise our rights and be part and parcel of this huge investment as part owners of Dangote Refinery after this offer.”
While commending Dangote, the board and management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery for taking the company to the capital market, Kwairanga assured that the NGX had the capacity and resources to support more large-scale transactions and attract significant businesses to the capital market.
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