Aliko Dangote on Monday signed documents for the planned Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, saying everyday Nigerians will be able to buy shares in the refinery.
Speaking at the ceremony in Lagos, the President of Dangote Industries Limited said the offer is an “IPO for the people” designed to allow drivers, cooks, traders, domestic workers, and managers to become shareholders.
The offering involves 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per share. It is expected to raise a little over N2 trillion. The minimum number of shares anyone can buy is 10.
Dangote explained that the goal goes beyond raising money for expansion. “What we are trying to do is to make sure majority of our drivers, our cooks, our servants, our managers, everybody, they will have an opportunity to have a stake in this refinery,” he said. “This is why we call it the IPO for the people. This is democratizing. There is no segregation on who can own these shares. We want every human being living on the continent to be part of this.”
He also hinted at future dollar-denominated dividends. “When they will end up having to say that yes, I’m waiting for that check for my dollar dividend to send for the school fees of my daughter in UK or anywhere in the world,” he added.
The prospectus values the offer at about $1.6 billion and puts the total value of the refinery at $49 billion. The IPO will run from September 14 to October 13.
Dangote recalled the difficult journey to building the refinery. He said banks trusted the project and provided funds even before the company had a site or licence. “Bankers without them even seeing which site we were going to use. Without seeing the license, we didn’t even have a license of the refinery. But the shared trust between us and our bankers made them to put money on the table,” he said.
He said the company spent five years looking for land, including three years and eight months at Olokola before finally moving to the Lekki Free Zone. He also mentioned clashes with the host community during early attempts to access the Lekki site.
Dangote thanked former Lagos governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, as well as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for their support. “Fashola and Ambode did extremely well, and then later on, Sanwo-Olu, they did even better,” he said.
He described the IPO day as one of gratitude and pride. “Today, I am indeed grateful to Almighty Allah for having spared our lives to witness this day. This event signals that we can dream and dream big while we create prosperity for our people. Today also shows that nothing is impossible for us to achieve once we are focused and determined.”
The businessman said the refinery fits into the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 to accelerate Africa’s industrialization. He stressed that energy security is key to industrial growth and disclosed that the group is also expanding into Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia.
Checks on Monday showed the refinery shares were not yet listed on the Nigerian Exchange or other investment platforms. The public offer will officially open on September 14.