Dangote Extends Nigerian Refinery IPO Deadline to October 27

Dangote has extended the deadline for the initial public offering of his Nigerian oil refinery to October 27, saying the move would give more people an opportunity to participate.

Aliko Dangote has extended the closing date for the initial public offering of his Nigerian oil refinery to October 27, saying the additional time would allow more people to take part.

The offering had been due to close on Tuesday. Dangote said the refinery had already attracted interest exceeding three or four times its fundraising target, but that the decision to extend the deadline was focused on widening participation rather than increasing the amount sought.

“We are going to extend the date because we want a lot of our African brothers and sisters to participate,” Dangote told journalists during a tour of the facility on Monday.

He added: “It is not about the amount, it is about the number of people that we want to participate.”

Expansion target

The 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Lagos had aimed to raise $1.6 billion through the IPO. The funds are intended to support a plan to double the facility’s capacity.

If the proposed expansion goes ahead, the refinery would become the world’s largest, surpassing India’s Jamnagar facility, according to the source report. The completion and status of that expansion have not been confirmed.

Dangote’s reported assessment of demand for the offering was attributed to him and was not independently verified in the source report. Details including the total number of shares, pricing and the amount ultimately raised were not provided.

Kenya project faces legal and environmental scrutiny

Dangote has also broken ground on a new facility on Kenya’s Lamu island. He has promised that the project will create tens of thousands of jobs.

However, the Lamu development is facing a lawsuit from the local community over land rights. The source report did not provide details on the legal status or outcome of the case.

Greenpeace has separately raised objections concerning the refinery’s environmental impact. The environmental group’s concerns and the community lawsuit add scrutiny to Dangote’s wider industrial expansion plans.

For now, the Nigerian refinery’s IPO will remain open until October 27, giving ordinary people and others across Africa more time to seek a stake in the business, according to Dangote.