Refinery IPO Didn’t Hit 10 Million Investors Target — Dangote

President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that the initial public offering (IPO) of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery failed to meet its target of attracting 10 million investors, despite recording substantial public interest.

Dangote made the disclosure on Sunday at the 25th annual conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) in Lagos, where he described the response to the offer as encouraging.

He said the exact number of participating investors had yet to be officially determined but maintained that millions of people took part in the share offer.

“We cannot tell the figure right away because we have not reported to this, but we’ve gotten an amazing demand from various people,” Dangote said.

The billionaire businessman attributed the shortfall to the limited time available for the offer and difficulties some prospective investors experienced while trying to access the subscription process.

“We didn’t hit the 10 million because of time constraint, and a lot of people, they didn’t know how to access,” he said.

Dangote compared the level of participation with previous public offerings, citing Kenya’s Safaricom offer, which attracted fewer than 900,000 investors, and Saudi Aramco’s global offering, which drew about five million investors.

The refinery’s public offer, tagged “The People’s IPO”, opened on September 14 and was extended until October 27, 2026. It offered 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares costing ₦5,250.

The company had initially targeted 10 million retail investors as part of its plan to broaden ownership beyond wealthy individuals and institutional investors.

Although the investor target was missed, demand for the offer was substantial. Reports indicated that the IPO attracted approximately ₦6.4 trillion in orders from retail and institutional investors, around three times the amount initially offered.

More than two million investors had reportedly subscribed through digital channels before the offer closed, although the final number of successful investors remains subject to official confirmation.

Dangote also disclosed that applications came from 120 countries, including all 54 African countries, highlighting interest beyond Nigeria.

He said the experience had changed his perception of Africa’s capacity to mobilise domestic capital and encouraged broader public participation in major business ventures.

The final investor count and share-allocation details are expected to provide a clearer picture of the offer’s reach and its success in expanding public participation in Nigeria’s capital market.