Aliko Dangote says the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is targeting as many as 10 million shareholders through its ongoing Initial Public Offering.
Dangote disclosed this in a video interview with CNN International correspondent Larry Madowo, posted on Madowo’s X account on Monday. The billionaire said the share offer was designed not only to attract Nigerian investors but also to broaden ownership of the refinery across Africa.
Madowo had noted that Nigerians on social media had been closely following Dangote’s business activities, including inspecting his trucks and visiting his cement plants, while jokingly describing themselves as investors demanding regular updates.
Responding, Dangote said the IPO had drawn interest from across the continent. “I think this IPO is not only for Nigerians. We’ve got a lot of interest from all over Africa, and we’re selling shares. We’re trying to bring in democracy to our stock markets,” he said.
Read Also: mtn-mafab-spectrum-talks-reignite-debate-over-nigerias-5g-power-balance
He said the company was aiming to spread ownership so widely that its annual general meeting could eventually require a stadium to accommodate shareholders. “We’re looking at having 10 million shareholders,” Dangote said. Asked whether he was confident of hitting that target, he replied: “I’m 100 per cent sure we get 10 million shareholders.”
Dangote said the goal of the offer was not primarily to raise additional capital, noting that the company had already secured the funding it needed. “I mean, we’ve already raised the money that we’re looking for, so this is just to make sure we spread the wealth across the continent,” he said.
The IPO opened on September 14, 2026, and consists of 4.1 billion new ordinary shares offered at ₦525 per share. The minimum subscription is 10 shares, requiring an investment of ₦5,250, with the offer scheduled to close on October 13, 2026. If fully subscribed, it is expected to raise about ₦2.15 trillion, equivalent to roughly $1.6 billion, a figure that could rise to about $2.1 billion should the company exercise its greenshoe option.
The planned broad-based ownership structure is designed to give retail and institutional investors across Nigeria and other African markets the opportunity to acquire stakes in one of the continent’s largest refining projects.
