Dangote Refinery IPO Misses 10m Investor Target

Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has disclosed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering (IPO) attracted millions of investors despite falling short of its target of 10 million participants.

Dangote attributed the shortfall to time constraints and limited awareness about how Nigerians could access the share offer.

He made the disclosure at the 25th annual conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) in Lagos, noting that the level of participation was significant compared with some major public offerings in Africa and globally.

According to Dangote, the refinery received strong demand from investors, although the final number of participants was yet to be established.

The IPO, tagged ‘The People’s IPO’, offered 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares costing ₦5,250.

Dangote compared the participation with previous public offerings, noting that Safaricom's share offer in Kenya attracted fewer than 900,000 investors, while Saudi Aramco's global IPO recorded approximately five million retail investors.

He said the refinery's offering demonstrated growing interest in public investment across Africa, particularly among individuals who previously kept their savings outside the formal financial system.

Reuters reported that more than two million investors subscribed through digital channels before the offer closed, while total orders reached approximately ₦6.4 trillion, about three times the targeted offer size.

Dangote also disclosed that applications came from 120 countries, including all 54 African countries.

Asked whether the IPO had changed his perception of Africa's capacity to mobilise capital within the continent, he said it had changed things dramatically, adding that developments were moving very quickly.