The long-awaited initial public offering of Aliko Dangote’s giant refinery is moving closer to the market, with September 14 emerging as the likely opening date for what has the makings of Africa’s largest-ever IPO.
A completion board meeting with all relevant parties involved will hold on Monday 7, according to people familiar with the matter. A completion board meeting is a formal gathering of a company’s board of directors held to finalise and approve all final actions and documents required to close a major transaction.
The offering could then open about a week later, setting the stage for investors to take a stake in one of Africa’s most ambitious industrial projects.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man, said Thursday that the refinery’s IPO would open within 10 to 12 days, according to Reuters. His comments, made during a visit to Botswana, provide the clearest indication yet of the timetable for a transaction that has been anticipated by Nigeria’s capital markets for months.
The refinery is expected to seek to raise about $5 billion, a deal that would rank among the most significant equity offerings in Africa and provide Dangote Industries with additional capital to fund its next phase of expansion.
