The Securities and Exchange Commission has directed capital market operators to immediately halt all promotional activities relating to a purported initial public offering by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, warning that it has neither received nor approved any application for such an offer.
The directive was contained in a public notice issued by the commission on Tuesday amid the circulation of advertisements, flyers, digital banners and targeted electronic mails promoting a supposed public offering by the refinery.
The SEC said it had become aware of the materials being circulated across social media platforms and investment channels and expressed concern over the involvement of some Registered Capital Market Operators in the exercise.
According to the commission, “The Securities and Exchange Commission has banned the marketing and promotion of a purported initial public offering by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, warning that no application for such an offer has been filed with or approved by the regulator.”
The regulator described the ongoing pre-marketing campaign as an “unwholesome and manipulative exercise,” noting that some operators were actively soliciting advance subscriptions for an offer that had not been presented to the Commission.
