Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP) has completed a private equity placement of approximately US$2.5 billion, in what the company describes as Africa's largest publicly disclosed primary equity private placement by value.
DPRP said in a statement on Thursday that the offering was oversubscribed 3.7 times relative to its initial size, resulting in the issuance and allotment of the new equity. The placement is DPRP's first equity capital raise involving external investors beyond its legacy shareholder base.
The transaction reportedly values the refinery at approximately $40 billion, with investors acquiring as much as 6 per cent of the company, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the deal. DPRP has not publicly disclosed the valuation or the size of the stake sold.
The placement precedes a planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange, which could take place as early as August, according to sources cited by Bloomberg and Reuters. An IPO is expected to raise a further US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion.
Investors in the placement included Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and India Infra Buildco, an investment vehicle facilitated by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), alongside a mix of international and African institutional investors, sovereign-related investment vehicles and development finance institutions.
Proceeds from the raise will fund DPRP's ongoing expansion of its refinery and petrochemical complex, which aims to more than double processing capacity from 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028, strengthen its capital structure and provide additional financial flexibility for future growth.
Aliko Dangote, President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited and Chairman of DPRP, described the transaction as "a strategic step to deepen and further institutionalise the Enterprise's shareholder base, while raising capital to complement our internal cash flows and external funding, as DPRP advances its expansion agenda."
The private placement follows DPRP's US$750 million international bond offering earlier this year, part of a broader effort to diversify its funding sources ahead of the planned listing.