Aliko Dangote launched the largest stock offering in Africa's history on Monday, selling 4.1 billion shares of his oil refinery at a price of 525 naira. This offering will continue from October 13 and is expected to raise $1.6 billion if fully subscribed, and could increase to $2.1 billion if the green option is utilized.
Refinery Value and Production Capacity
This refinery, which processes 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily, is approximately valued at $47 billion. Dangote's refinery has benefited from increased demand for jet fuel across Africa and Europe due to supply disruptions related to the Iran war. The refinery reported a net profit after tax of $1.82 billion for the first half of 2026, while it recorded a loss of $476 million for the entire year of 2025.
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Development and Investment Plans
Dangote intends to use the proceeds from this offering for a $14.3 billion development that will double the refinery's capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029. This $20 billion refinery, located outside Lagos, has supplied a significant portion of Nigeria's domestic gasoline since it began operations in 2024.
Dangote has introduced this offering to ordinary Nigerians, who can participate by purchasing a minimum of 10 shares through fintech platforms. An entrepreneur in Lagos named Chris Chijioke announced that he plans to buy 2,000 shares but called this offering "very valuable" and pointed out the risk of delays in development. Additionally, journalist Ibrahim Abubakar stated that he will buy about 2,850 shares because he believes the refinery is "far too big to fail."
The state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates (ADNOC) has also expressed interest in investing in this refinery, although the terms are yet to be determined. Dangote is also negotiating to build a $17 billion refinery on Lamu Island in Kenya and is offering shares to Kenya and other East African governments; Kenya's 10% stake alone would be valued at $500 million.
Dangote has predicted that demand for this stock offering will be similar to a private offering in July, which was 3.7 times oversubscribed.
