LAGOS, Oct 12 – Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a two-week extension of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals’ initial public offering (IPO) to October 27, giving investors across Africa more time to participate in the share sale.
The offering, launched about a month ago, was originally scheduled to close on Tuesday. The extension follows strong investor interest across the continent and efforts to broaden access to the transaction beyond Nigeria.
Owned by Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, the refinery is seeking to raise as much as $2.1 billion to support the expansion of its operations. The offering is expected to become Africa’s largest share sale to date.
The IPO is designed to widen ownership of the company’s 700,000-barrel-per-day refining complex by opening the investment opportunity to as many as 10 million retail investors in Nigeria and other African countries.
The extension provides additional time for prospective investors outside Nigeria to participate, supporting the company’s broader objective of building a more geographically diverse shareholder base.
Expansion Plans and Broader Ownership
The proposed share sale comes as Dangote Refinery pursues an ambitious expansion strategy. With its large refining capacity and potential to supply petroleum products to multiple African markets, the facility has become a significant part of efforts to strengthen the continent’s downstream energy infrastructure.
The IPO also offers an opportunity to broaden participation in a major African industrial asset, moving beyond concentrated private ownership towards a wider base of retail investors.
The revised closing date of October 27 gives investors an additional two weeks to submit applications, as the company seeks to combine its capital-raising objectives with broader African participation in the refinery’s ownership.