Dangote Refinery secures $400m funding ahead of planned IPO

By Firdaus Jibril

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has secured a $400m underwriting programme ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO), in what could become one of Africa’s largest public share sales.

The programme, announced on Tuesday by the refinery’s financial advisers, Marob Strategies and Consulting DIFC Ltd and Lilium Capital Group, comprises a completed and funded $600 million private placement alongside an additional $400 million underwriting commitment for the proposed IPO.

According to the advisers, the $600 million private placement has already been underwritten and funded by Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV, a subsidiary of Lilium Capital Group.

The additional $400 million underwriting commitment will be executed only when the IPO launches, remaining subject to market conditions, corporate and regulatory approvals, definitive documentation, and applicable securities laws.

The development comes as the refinery prepares for a potential listing on the Nigerian capital market.

The company has submitted an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed $5 billion IPO, though the final size of the offering has not yet been determined.

The planned IPO is expected to raise additional capital for the refinery’s expansion programme, which aims to increase processing capacity from approximately 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.

This planned expansion aligns with the company’s efforts to strengthen its foothold in Nigeria’s domestic fuel market while broadening exports across Africa and other international destinations.

Foreign media organisations have earlier reported that the facility has also capitalized on global fuel supply disruptions linked to regional Middle Eastern conflicts, supplying jet fuel to markets across Africa and Western Europe.

The advisers noted that they are coordinating the distribution of underwriting participation across Global Africa, targeting sovereign wealth funds, governments, institutional investors, and other eligible entities.

They added that investor response to the programme has been robust, reflecting growing institutional appetite for large-scale African industrial assets.

The planned listing follows a reported $2.5 billion private placement completed in July, which valued the refinery at approximately $40 billion and was oversubscribed.

The refinery has indicated that the IPO will prioritize broadening Nigerian ownership and participation, with the listing taking place on the domestic exchange.

News reports last week also indicate that the company aims to launch the IPO by October 2026, with no immediate plans for a secondary foreign listing.

When completed, the offering will grant Nigerian and broader African investors direct equity participation in one of the continent’s premier industrial assets, while supplying the refinery with fresh capital to drive its next phase of growth.