Investors in Kenya and Uganda are set to join Nigerians in participating in the much-anticipated public offering of Dangote Refinery, following regulatory approvals that open the landmark share sale to investors across East Africa. The development expands the reach of the refinery’s planned $1.6 billion initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to rank among the largest share sales in Africa and has been positioned by Dangote Industries as a major opportunity for African investors.
The refinery, Africa’s largest crude-processing facility, is making almost 20 per cent of the offering available to investors in the region. The allocation could be worth as much as $300.4 million if fully taken up.
In Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority has approved a short-form prospectus for a global depository receipt linked to the Dangote Refinery offering, paving the way for eligible Kenyan investors to participate in the IPO. The approval covers a global depository receipt submitted by Renaissance Capital Kenya. The firm will work alongside Renaissance Capital Africa, which is licensed to operate in Nigeria, to facilitate Kenyan investors’ access to the offer.
Kenya’s capital market regulator has also approved at least seven other licensed firms working with their Nigerian counterparts to support eligible investors seeking exposure to the share sale. The Kenyan approval effectively creates another international gateway into the Dangote Refinery IPO and reinforces the growing regional interest in Africa’s largest privately developed oil refinery.
AsSimilarly, the government of Uganda has cleared the way for local investors to participate. The Uganda Capital Markets Authority approved the promotion and distribution of Dangote Refinery securities to Ugandan investors following an application submitted on behalf of the refinery by Stanbic IBTC Capital.
The twin regulatory approvals in Kenya and Uganda mark a significant step in Dangote Refinery’s efforts to broaden participation in the IPO beyond Nigeria and attract capital from across the continent.
Dangote Industries launched the IPO in September as part of a broader strategy to raise funds for the expansion of the refinery’s processing capacity from its current 700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day. The company has described the transaction as a “people’s IPO,” underscoring its ambition to give a broader pool of African investors an opportunity to own a stake in one of the continent’s most significant industrial assets.
With Kenya and Uganda now joining Nigeria, the offering is taking on an increasingly pan-African character, potentially making the Dangote Refinery share sale not only one of the continent’s biggest IPOs, but also one of its most geographically inclusive.