LAGOS — The highly anticipated public listing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has cleared another major milestone, with investor demand for the facility’s pre-IPO private placement already crossing the $2 billion threshold.

Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, shared the update during a high-profile facility tour by billionaire businessman Femi Otedola and top executives from First HoldCo at the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

While investor interest is exceptionally high, Dangote clarified that the refinery might not sell the full $2 billion worth of equity during this private round, noting that the management team will carefully evaluate how to allocate the available shares.

Otedola Commits $100 Million as September IPO Date is Set

The corporate visit included a tour of the deep-water jetty and fertilizer plant, producing one of the most significant private investment commitments of the year. Femi Otedola, Chairman of First HoldCo, publicly announced his intention to personally acquire $100 million worth of shares in the private placement. Otedola revealed that he recently divested his entire stake in Geregu Power specifically to free up capital for this refinery investment.

In tandem with the private funding updates, Dangote provided an updated timeline for the mainstream public rollout. The company is now actively working with financial advisors to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nigerian Exchange by September 2026.

This updated window shifts the listing by about two months from the initial mid-year timeline discussed earlier in February, allowing advisors to properly manage the massive volume of early institutional interest.

Mapping Out a $50 Billion Valuation and Continental Expansion

The upcoming market debut is expected to rank as one of the largest corporate listings in African financial history. According to recent valuation targets reported by Bloomberg, Dangote Industries is eyeing a total market valuation of up to $50 billion for the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery. The group previously indicated it plans to float up to a 10% stake during the listing, a transaction that could raise roughly $5 billion in public capital.

Dangote emphasized that the decision to pursue a cross-border listing is a deliberate strategy to democratize corporate ownership across the continent, allowing everyday African retail investors to directly fund and benefit from local industrial infrastructure.

Looking beyond the Nigerian market, the billionaire industrialist also used the event to reveal preliminary plans for an East African refinery expansion. The proposed project targets a refining capacity of 700,000 barrels per day alongside specialized polypropylene facilities, with construction potentially kicking off within the next three to four years.

The massive influx of private capital signals strong market confidence before the historic public listing.