Billionaire Dangote launches oil refinery 'people's IPO', Africa's biggest

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote inaugurated Africa's most substantial share sale on Monday, as he unveiled his oil refinery for public investment, with the potential to raise up to $2.1 billion for its growth. Dangote, Africa's wealthiest individual, described the offering of roughly 3% of the stake as a "people's IPO," aiming to provide regular Nigerians with a chance to contribute to the plant's prosperity.

The refinery has gained traction due to supply constraints resulting from the Iran conflict, enabling it to supply jet fuel to Western European nations. Dangote announced on Monday that the primary goal of the share sale was to "democratize wealth creation." However, retail investors will pay a premium compared to institutional investors who participated in a private placement in July, which generated $2.5 billion for a 6% stake.

The private placement's valuation of the company was estimated at $40 billion, whereas the IPO adjusts the valuation closer to $49 billion, per the company's prospectus.

David Bird, the refinery's CEO, disclosed to Reuters that the private placement discount was due to specific conditions, including a lockup period, which institutional investors agreed to. The Africa Finance Corporation, among the institutional investors in the private placement, also mentioned sovereign wealth funds and other development finance institutions as potential investors.

If the IPO is fully subscribed on Nigeria's main stock exchange, it will generate $1.6 billion, with the amount potentially increasing to approximately $2.1 billion if the offer is oversubscribed and the company opts to utilize a greenshoe option to issue additional shares.