The Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering (IPO) has attracted subscriptions reportedly exceeding its original fundraising target several times, prompting the company to extend its closing date by two weeks to give more African investors an opportunity to participate.
Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, disclosed the development on Monday, explaining that the extension was not driven by a need to raise additional funds but by the company’s ambition to broaden share ownership across the continent.
Also read: Dangote dismisses Kenyan court hurdle to $16bn refinery
The offer, valued at approximately N2.15tn, comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each. Based on a fourfold subscription estimate, the potential value of subscriptions could reach about N8.61tn.
However, the company has not disclosed the exact amount subscribed or confirmed that the reported multiple applies to the entire offer value.
The N8.61tn figure is therefore a calculation based on the offer’s total value, rather than a confirmed subscription total.
In a statement issued by Dangote Group on Monday, Dangote said the company wanted to give more investors across Africa the opportunity to own shares in the refinery.
“The IPO is going very well. We will extend the closing date because we want more of our African brothers and sisters to participate,” he said.
Dangote explained that discussions with the Nairobi Securities Exchange had helped the company identify a potential arrangement for facilitating participation by investors in other African markets.
He added that the refinery was working to replicate similar arrangements with other African exchanges to widen access to the offer.
Addressing the strong subscription interest, Dangote said the amount raised was no longer the primary consideration, stressing that the company was more interested in increasing the number of people who could participate.
According to him, expanding ownership of the business among African investors was an important objective of the public offer.
The public offer opened on September 14 and was initially scheduled to close on October 13. Following approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the closing date has now been moved to October 27, 2026.
The additional two weeks are expected to support efforts to expand participation across African markets through wider distribution channels and unsponsored depository receipt programmes designed to facilitate cross-border investment.
The extension will also provide prospective investors with more time to complete account-opening procedures, identity verification and other regulatory requirements needed to participate in the offer.
The company said these measures were intended to make the share offer more accessible to investors beyond Nigeria.
David Bird, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, welcomed the SEC’s approval, saying the additional time would allow more investors across the continent to participate in the refinery’s growth.
Bird said the company’s ambition from the outset had been to enable as many people as possible to invest in the business through the IPO.
He added that the extension would help the refinery reach more investors and provide a broader section of the African market with an opportunity to acquire shares.
The Dangote Refinery IPO offers ordinary shares at N525 each, with the total offer valued at approximately N2.15tn if all 4.1 billion shares are subscribed.
The extension to October 27 gives interested investors additional time to review the offer and complete the necessary registration and verification processes.
While the reported subscription figures indicate substantial investor interest, the refinery has yet to publish an exact subscription total confirming the scale of demand.
Also read: Dangote dismisses Kenyan court hurdle to $16bn refinery
The offer represents an opportunity for investors to acquire an ownership stake in one of Africa’s major refining projects, while Dangote Group seeks to widen participation in the business across the continent.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
