Africa’s largest initial public offering is set to close on Tuesday, ending a 44-day window for investors to bid for a stake in the Dangote refinery in Nigeria. The share sale caps the company’s rapid two-year rise to become one of the continent’s most valued firms.
The sale was extended by two weeks, but a Dangote representative told Semafor no further extension is planned. Botswana, Ethiopia, and Kenya are among other African countries where investors will be able to buy stakes in the refinery through the use of global depositary receipts.
The IPO, which is expected to raise more than $2 billion, could increase Nigeria’s investor base five-fold, said the head of the Lagos stock exchange. African policymakers are keen to expand access to their capital markets to attract more foreign investment into companies and mobilize domestic capital to reduce their reliance on costly foreign financing.
