The Dangote Refinery has secured the approval of Nigeria’s securities regulator to launch an initial public offering on the stock exchange in Lagos. The company, whose 700,000 barrels-a-day oil plant is Africa’s largest, is set to raise about $1.6 billion.
The latest step bookends a year-long anticipation for an offer that is poised to represent a landmark moment for Nigeria’s capital markets. Located in a free trade zone on the outskirts of Lagos, the Dangote Refinery opened two years ago and has become the main supplier of fuels to the Nigerian market, as well as a jet fuel exporter to Europe. The public offer is part of a $5 billion fundraising push, half of which the company has already secured from a private placement. The Dangote Group also has plans to list its cement subsidiary in London and is in the early stages of beginning another refinery project in Kenya. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is in talks to take an ownership stake in the group’s refineries, according to Bloomberg.