If you have so much as had a whiff of media reports on business and economy in the last ten days, whether it is in broadcast, print or online, then you must have come across news about the Dangote refinery initial public offering (IPO). The IPO is poised to be the most significant capital market event in years with the refinery preparing a public share offering that could raise the value of the biggest single train refinery in the world to $40billion and raise as much as $5 billion from investors.
The IPO will, for the first time, afford ordinary Nigerians the opportunity to become a stakeholder in a massive humongous facility that is not only changing how Nigeria produces, refines, and consumes petroleum products but also rewriting the rules of the global energy playbook.
But with investors hugely anticipating the IPO, there are certain things that potential shareholders must know to guide them on how to be part of this momentous occasion, position themselves ahead of the subscription window and how the offer framework works.
An IPO, or initial public offering, is the process through which a private company sells shares of itself to the public for the first time. Before an IPO, ownership of the company solely belongs to its founders, early investors, and private stakeholders. After an IPO, members of the public with a brokerage account can buy a stake in the business and become shareholders.
There are a plethora of reasons why companies go public chief among which is to raise capital for expansion. Other reasons are to give early investors an exit or to broaden the company’s public profile and credibility. For investors, IPOs offer the chance to get in at the ground floor of a company’s public market journey, and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has opened the door to such an opportunity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
Dangote Refinery IPO is unlike any other listing in the history of the Nigerian exchange or capital market. The offering is six times the size of the previous largest IPO which was MTN when it listed on the Nigerian exchange in 2019. The telecommunications company raised approximately $876 million, a deal the Dangote IPO now dwarfs.
What percentage of the company’s stake is being offered to the public
While the exact price of shares is yet to be confirmed, Dangote Group plans to sell up to 10% of the refinery’s equity through the IPO. According to the offer structure, investors may be offered between 5% and 10% of the company’s stake, paving the way for both local and international participation. The 10% stake the company is offering to the public is about $5 billion of the $40–50 billion valuation currently being targeted.
To put that in context, the entire market capitalisation of the NGX is currently around $70 billion. A single listing of this size would significantly raise the liquidity of the exchange and strengthen its foundation in one transaction.
The price of the share will be published in the prospectus ahead of the offer. The frameworks of the deal are that this is a partial sale of an existing business, not a fundraiser for a company that has not been tested or fully operational.
Market expectations predict that shares could begin trading on the Nigerian Exchange’s main board between June and July, depending on regulatory approvals and investor response.
The IPO will be open to retail investors, institutional funds, and pension managers. Nigerian investors are the primary target market, with the subscription expected to be denominated in naira. If everything goes according to plan, this could be the first pan-African IPO of its magnitude executed across African exchanges without relying on global financial centres like London or New York.
How is the Dangote Refinery IPO structure different?
One feature that separates this IPO from other listings currently available on the Nigerian exchange is the dividend structure. Unlike other companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange, Dangote will not be paying its shareholders their dividends in Naira.
According to Dangote, despite the purchase of its shares in naira, shareholders will receive returns in US dollars. In layman’s language, while your investment is made in naira, your dividends and returns will be paid in dollars. The company said this structure is designed to protect investors against the vagaries of the Nigerian currency and hedge against inflation and also a way to attract foreign investors.
The dollar dividends will be supported by the refinery’s projected $6.4 billion in annual export revenues, primarily from petrochemical exports, particularly polypropylene and fertiliser, which generate foreign currency income. Since the petrochemicals division brings in dollars from international buyers, these dollar revenues can be used to fund dollar-denominated payouts to shareholders.
This model is the first of its kind on the NGX. The payouts of most listed on Nigerian exchange are done in naira, which ostensibly makes shareholders vulnerable to inflation and any depreciation in the naira between the date the dividend is declared and the date it hits your account. The Dangote Refinery dividend payment structure removes the exposure to such vulnerability and uncertainty. You invest in naira, as you would with any NGX-listed stock, but your returns are paid in a hard currency.
However, it is worth mentioning that this dividend payment structure is still under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Finance is still reviewing the regulatory framework needed to authorise this dividend arrangement. The structure has been announced and confirmed by Dangote himself, but final regulatory ratification is pending.
Where will the shares be listed?
The primary listing will be on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). Pension funds, institutional asset managers, and retail investors like you will all be able to participate through NGX-registered brokers. Dangote is also pushing for a pan-African cross-border offering that would provide simultaneous access across exchanges in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Ghana, and potentially others.
Also being considered is dual listing on the London Stock Exchange, a possibility Dangote mulled as early as May 2024, stressing that the Nigerian market alone may not have sufficient depth to absorb a transaction of this scale.
A London listing would expose the IPO to undoubtedly expand the pool of international institutional investors and would give the refinery a profile on one of the world’s most-watched exchanges. The company is also weighing listings on exchanges in other African nations, though no concrete decisions have been made on that.
How to buy Dangote Refinery shares
To participate in any IPO listed on the Nigerian Exchange, you need a CSCS account. CSCS stands for Central Securities Clearing System. It is the agency that holds and tracks share ownership in Nigeria.
Without a CSCS account, you cannot receive or hold shares from an NGX listing. Opening one is the foundational step for any Nigerian investor looking to participate in the stock market. Given the IPO timeline, now is the best time to open an account rather than when the subscription window opens.
Your CSCS account is linked to your brokerage account. When you invest through a licensed stockbroker or investment platform like Zedcrest Wealth and CowryWise. They facilitate the CSCS registration as part of the account opening process. You can download the apps of these stockbrokers on the Google Play Store or Apple Store to create your CSCS account so you’re ready to invest when the IPO goes live.
The IPO advisers?
Three financial institutions have been selected to manage the offering. They are Stanbic IBTC Capital, Vetiva Capital Management and First Capital. The announcement of the appointment of this consortium indicates that the IPO has moved from announcement to execution
Stanbic IBTC Capital, operating under the Standard Bank Group umbrella, will be in charge of the international book-building process which involves weighing investor demand and setting the final offer price, and will lead and oversee engagement with foreign portfolio investors.
Vetiva Capital Management, which has advised on previous Dangote listings, will oversee retail investor distribution in Nigeria and liaise with the relevant regulatory authorities.
First Capital‘s mandate covers placements with Nigerian institutional investors, particularly pension funds.
Important timelines
Based on announcements from the Dangote Group and its advisers, the key milestones are as follows:
April 2026: Prospectus submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria for review and approval.
May–August 2026: National investor roadshow across Nigeria, followed by the opening of the public subscription window.
June–July 2026: Expected listing and commencement of trading on the NGX main board.
