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Nigeria's SEC has approved a Dangote Refinery IPO worth $1.6 billion

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of 'Dangote Group Refinery's business.' This is Africa's largest-ever share sale.

According to the statement, the IPO could raise up to 2.15 trillion ($1.63billion) if it is fully subscribed. The company plans to sell 4.1 billion shares of ordinary stock at 525 naira each. The terms were first announced on Friday.

The listing will test the appetite of investors for one of Africa's most ambitious projects. The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, built at a cost of about $20 billion on the outskirts of Lagos, has transformed Nigeria's fuel market and emerged as a ?major beneficiary of supply disruptions linked to the Iran war, exporting jet fuel across Africa and into Europe.

According to calculations, the SEC has registered 120.13 billion shares of ordinary stock in the refinery company. This implies a value of approximately $47 billion.

The company stated that "with SEC approval secured, the refinery will embark on a historic offering which could broaden investor participation significantly in one of Nigeria’s most transformative industries ventures."

Sources with knowledge of the issue said that the order book would open on the 14th September, which is in line with the timeframe set by Aliko Dangote - the majority shareholder of the group - on Thursday.

Dangote Group refused to comment on when the offer was made.

The refinery's major shareholder has raised cash to fund a planned doubling in capacity to 1.4million barrels per day. They have already secured a 400 million dollar underwriting commitment.

Two sources from the company said that a formal signing ceremony will take place next week to launch the deal.

AFRICA'S RICHEST MALE

Market participants claim that the rapid growth of the refinery has helped to fuel investor interest in this share sale.

First source: The IPO 'will include a greenshoe option that allows it to sell up to 15% more shares if the demand exceeds the supply.

A private placement made in July showed a refinery's valuation at $40 billion. However, some analysts and investors say that this is high compared to other listed oil refiners.

Tupras in Turkey, which has a similar refinery capacity across?four locations, has a?market?value of around $12 billion. Meanwhile, HF Sinclair of New York, with a capacity of approximately 678,000 bpd is valued at $16 billion.

Aliko Dangote said at a Botswana business meeting on Thursday that he wanted to turn the refinery - which doesn't disclose financial details - into a company with a profit before tax, interest, depreciation, and amortization of more than $12 billion.

Dangote is Africa's richest person with a net-worth estimated between $31 billion to $35 billion. He said he wanted investors across the continent, including Nigerian investors, to "participate" in the offering.

This is not a Nigerian listing. In his Botswana address, he stated that it was an African listing and we would pay everyone, including Nigerian listings, in dollars.

(source: Reuters)