Dangote refinery extends IPO deadline to October 27

Dangote’s Nigerian oil refinery has extended the closing date for its initial public offering to October 27, giving more time for ordinary people and participants from across Africa to take part.

The offering had been due to close on Tuesday. Aliko Dangote, who is described as Africa’s richest man, announced the extension during a tour of the facility in Lagos on Monday.

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

He said the decision was intended to broaden participation rather than simply increase the amount raised. “It is not about the amount, it is about the number of people that we want to participate,” he said.

Expansion funding target

The 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery had aimed to raise $1.6 billion through the offering to double its capacity. Dangote said there had been enough interest to raise more than three or four times the target amount, a claim attributed to him by the source report.

If the proposed expansion goes ahead, the refinery would become the world’s largest, surpassing the facility at Jamnagar in India. The source does not state whether the expansion has been approved or whether it will proceed.

The refinery’s IPO extension comes as Dangote continues to pursue other projects in Africa. He has broken ground on a new facility on Kenya’s Lamu island and has promised that the project will create tens of thousands of jobs.

Questions surrounding Lamu project

The Lamu development is facing a lawsuit from the local community over land rights, according to the source report. Greenpeace has also raised objections over the refinery’s environmental impact.

The new IPO deadline is October 27. Further details about the offering, including its pricing and share allocation, were not provided in the verified information available.