Dangote Refinery is preparing for a $5 billion initial public offering in Nigeria, with a secondary listing in South Africa under consideration, according to Business Insider Africa.
The planned IPO could take place as early as October, LEADERSHIP Newspapers reports. Business Insider Africa notes that a Johannesburg listing would follow the Nigerian float, placing shares on the exchange in Africa's richest country.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) confirmed that Dangote has expressed "strong intent" to pursue a South African listing after the Nigeria IPO, Reuters reports. This would give investors in southern Africa direct access to the refinery's stock.
Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group executives have described the planned offering as a potential game changer for the local market, according to THISDAYLIVE. The listing would be one of the largest ever on the Lagos exchange and could draw significant international attention to Nigeria's capital markets.
The refinery, which began operations in 2024, is the largest single-train refinery in the world. It was built to reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported fuel, a long-standing weakness in Africa's largest oil producer. A successful IPO would provide capital for further expansion and operational needs.
The dual-listing strategy would follow a pattern used by other large African companies seeking deeper pools of capital. South Africa's JSE is the continent's most developed exchange, offering greater liquidity and a broader base of institutional investors.
What to watch next: Whether the October timeline holds and how the Nigerian and South African regulators sequence the two listings.
