The People's IPO: Inside the massive demand for Dangote's shares
President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote speaks during an interview, ahead of breaking ground on the construction of a 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu along Kenya's southern coastline, in the Westlands district of Nairobi, Kenya, September 29, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Company expected to exercise greenshoe option
- Greenshoe would raise IPO to as much as $2.1 billion (Sh273 billion)
- More than 2 million subscribe via digital channels
- Share allocation starts next week ahead of November debut
Nigeria's $1.6 billion (Sh208 billion) Dangote refinery initial public offering has drawn about three times the total targeted orders, two people with knowledge of the situation said, underscoring strong demand for what has been billed as "The People's IPO".
The share sale, which closes on Tuesday, has about 6.4 trillion naira (Sh621 billion) of orders from Nigerian retail and institutional investors, one person involved told Reuters.
Aliko Dangote, the billionaire owner of the Lagos refinery, has said the sale is targeting millions of ordinary Nigerians and Africans who can buy shares with as little as $4 (Sh520).
The order book is expected to grow once subscriptions from investors in other African countries are included, one of the people said, adding that Dangote had received subscriptions from more than 2 million investors through digital channels so far.
Given the demand, Dangote was expected to exercise a greenshoe option that would allow it to increase the size of the offering to as much as $2.1 billion (Sh273 billion), the person added.
A Dangote spokesperson declined to comment on the demand and possibility of exercising the greenshoe option.
The IPO comes as Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has benefited from stronger margins, with higher crude oil prices linked to the Iran war lifting earnings.
The refinery, which began commercial operations in early 2024, has steadily increased output and expanded exports, including shipments of jet fuel to Europe and other African markets, helping position Nigeria as a potential net exporter of refined petroleum products.
Share allocation will begin next week ahead of the stock's planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange later in November, the company's IPO prospectus said.
Built at a cost of about $20 billion (Sh2.6 trillion), the refinery has transformed Nigeria's fuel market since it began operating.
It processes about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and aims to double capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
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