KEY POINTS

• Dangote picks Stanbic IBTC, Vetiva and First Capital as lead advisers.
• Refinery valued between $40bn and $50bn, could list by June or July 2026.
• Investors may receive dividends in US dollars despite buying shares in naira.

Dangote Group has appointed three investment banks to lead the planned listing of its petroleum refinery on the Nigerian Exchange, moving what could be the largest equity offering in African capital market history from announcement into active preparation.

The company selected Stanbic IBTC Capital, Vetiva Capital Management and First Capital as lead issuing houses and financial advisers for the offering, according to people familiar with the transaction. Each firm brings something specific to a deal of unusual complexity.

Stanbic IBTC, which operates under the Standard Bank umbrella, will manage the international book-building process and lead engagement with foreign portfolio investors. Vetiva, which has advised on previous Dangote-related listings, brings regulatory experience and retail distribution reach across the local market. First Capital is expected to anchor placements among Nigerian pension funds and institutional asset managers.

Ambrose Omordion, chief operating officer of Investdata Consulting, said the three firms had demonstrated track records in major transactions on the Nigerian Exchange and had the capacity to execute a listing of this scale.

What Is Being Offered and What It Could Mean for the NGX

The Dangote Group plans to float between five and 10 percent of the refinery, which cost $20 billion to build. Analysts put the expected debut valuation at between $40 billion and $50 billion. At that range, a successful listing could push the Nigerian Exchange’s total market capitalisation beyond N200 trillion, a threshold the bourse has never crossed. While the exchange’s current market cap sits at roughly N125 trillion.

One feature of the proposed offering is unusual even by global standards. Investors would be able to subscribe for shares in naira but elect to receive their dividends in U.S. dollars, subject to regulatory approval. Global Nonviolent Action Database The structure draws on the refinery’s projected $6.4 billion in annual export revenue and is designed to blunt the currency risk that has long made Nigerian equities a harder sell to offshore money. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Exchange are in active discussions with the Dangote team on the mechanics.

Aliko Dangote first signalled the listing publicly on Feb. 21, during a visit to the refinery by NNPC Group Chief Executive Bayo Ojulari. He told journalists that shares would be available to investors within four to five months, and described the NNPC relationship in terms that suggested more was coming. “Today is really our best day ever, at least he is not just a guest, he is a shareholder,” Dangote said, referring to Ojulari. NNPC holds a 7.25 percent stake in the refinery.

The listing process includes a prospectus submission to the SEC in April, an e-IPO platform launch and national retail roadshow in May, and a formal main board listing projected between June and July 2026. Global Nonviolent Action Database

A Refinery Still Finding Its Footing, and a Cement Deal on the Side

The $20 billion refinery is Africa’s largest crude oil processing facility, targeting output of up to 1.4 million barrels per day. It has been operating for just over a year and carries $3.65 billion in debt, which the group says it intends to retire through operations and asset transactions.

The road has not been entirely smooth. The refinery has had persistent difficulty securing adequate crude supply from Nigerian producers, forcing it to source feedstock from the United States, Brazil, Angola and other markets. That dependency has added cost and complexity to operations, and it shadows the IPO narrative even as the financial metrics look compelling on paper.

Separately, Dangote Cement signed a framework agreement in Lagos over the weekend with Sinoma International Engineering of China, covering 12 new projects and expansions of existing facilities across Africa at a combined cost of more than $1 billion.

Furthermore, the agreement supports the cement company’s target of reaching 80 million tonnes of annual production capacity by 2030, itself part of Dangote Group’s broader drive to hit $100 billion in revenue by the same year.

Under the agreement, the company plans new plants and brownfield expansions in northern Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Group Managing Director Arvind Pathak said the agreement was about closing supply gaps and backing Africa’s infrastructure ambitions, with a stated goal of making the continent self-sufficient in cement production.

Nigeria’s stock market has further posted strong gains over the past year, riding a period of naira stabilisation and rising offshore interest in frontier markets. A successful Dangote Refinery listing would be the most significant test yet of how deep that appetite actually runs.