Despite the possibility of making more money, Dangote is holding off on offering shares of his refinery to traders outside Africa

Aliko Dangote revealed plans to list his oil refinery on the stock market in July last year, following widespread speculation that the tycoon favored international partnerships over local ones.

• Aliko Dangote could list his refinery on several African stock exchanges, starting with Nigeria as the primary market, when it goes live in October.
• The initial public offering (IPO) will focus on African participation, with no immediate plans for an international listing.
• The company said it needs at least three years of strong operational and financial performance before considering foreign listings, with London as a potential venue.
• Stock exchanges in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda have shown interest in hosting or facilitating the IPO.

Very recently, the subject of foreign interest in the Dangote Refinery came up again as the CEO of the company revealed that the idea of a foreign listing is years away.

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Speaking to Reuters, the CEO of the Dangote Refinery, David Bird, confirmed that the Dangote Refinery listing, scheduled for October, would be exclusive to some African countries, primarily its home base, Nigeria.

Before assessing an international listing that could potentially yield a higher valuation, Mr. Bird indicated that the corporation requires a minimum of three years of demonstrated operational and financial performance.

London has been identified as a prospective venue.

"We really want to drive ​participation," CEO David Bird said in an interview. "The mandate of the IPO was to be ​the people's IPO."

When Aliko Dangote first detailed plans to list his refinery, he noted that he would be putting up 5 to 10% of his refinery for sale, with Nigeria being the primary market.

“At the moment, our main interest is to list on the exchange, so that every living Nigerian can own part of the refinery,” he stated.

“Somebody asked me a question: is it 5 or 10 percent you want to sell, and I said that when we are going to sell the shares, we will not put a cap; if they happen to buy 55% and I own 45%, so be it,” he added.

African interest in the Dangote Refinery IPO

The Dangote Refinery listing, over the last few months, has attracted attention from stock exchanges in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda, which have held discussions with the refinery's advisers on ways to provide investors in their markets access to the share sale.

Word of a potential Pan-African listing first surfaced in April when the president of the Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc recently indicated that Aliko Dangote plans to follow a multiple-listing strategy, issuing shares in his refinery on numerous African capital markets.

According to an email from FirstCap CEO Ukandu obtained by Bloomberg, Dangote chose Stanbic IBTC Capital Ltd., Vetiva Advisory Services Ltd., and FirstCap Ltd. to offer assistance on the IPO of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.

"The plan is to structure a pan-African IPO," Frank Mwiti, CEO of the Nairobi exchange, stated during a meeting last week between African exchange leaders and billionaire Dangote in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial city.

“The plan is to structure a pan-African IPO,” Frank Mwiti, CEO of the Nairobi exchange, said after a meeting between the heads of African exchanges and billionaire Dangote in Lagos.

By August, it was reported that Africa's largest stock exchange was positioning itself to host a secondary listing of the Refinery.

At the time, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) confirmed that it had held discussions with the Dangote Group, stating that the company intends to complete a primary listing in Nigeria before considering a secondary listing in South Africa.

"They will list in Nigeria first but with strong intent to hopefully bring the listing to South Africa," a JSE spokesperson told Reuters.