Aliko Dangote has admitted that the initial public offer (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery fell short of its target of attracting 10 million investors, despite receiving subscription orders worth about N6.4 trillion.
Speaking at the 25th annual conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) in Lagos, Dangote blamed the shortfall partly on the limited time available and difficulties some prospective investors faced accessing the offer.
“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.
The refinery had set an ambitious target of bringing 10 million investors into its ownership structure through the public offer, which was promoted as an opportunity for ordinary Nigerians and other African investors to own shares in the business.
The company offered 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 each, putting the offer size at N2.15 trillion. Investors needed a minimum of N5,250 to subscribe for 10 shares.
The offer, which opened on September 14, was initially scheduled to close on October 13 but was extended to October 27.
Despite missing its investor target, the company received subscription orders of approximately N6.4 trillion, almost three times the value of shares offered.
Dangote compared the response with previous major share offerings, including GTBank’s public offer, which attracted about 200,000 investors, and Safaricom’s listing in Kenya, which drew fewer than 900,000 shareholders. He also referenced Saudi Aramco’s IPO, which attracted approximately five million investors.
The figures highlight the scale of the refinery’s ambition. However, the value of subscriptions and the number of people who actually invested tell different stories.
Strong demand suggests investors were willing to commit substantial funds to the refinery. But the failure to reach 10 million participants points to the difficulties of bringing millions of new investors into the formal capital market.
The challenge is particularly relevant in Nigeria, where the investor base remains relatively small compared with the country’s population. The offer was expected to introduce a significant number of first-time investors to the stock market.
Dangote’s comments also raise questions about how easily ordinary people can access public offers, particularly those without existing stockbroking accounts or experience using investment platforms.
The next test will be whether the offer translates into sustained participation in the Nigerian Exchange. The number of investors who receive shares, remain invested and participate in future offers will provide a better indication of its long-term impact on retail investment.
For now, the refinery has demonstrated that Nigerian investors can generate substantial demand for a major domestic business. But reaching 10 million individual investors remains an ambition yet to be achieved.
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