Dangote Confirms 2028 Fertiliser IPO, Reacts To Shareholders’ ‘Board Meeting’ Calls

Africa’s richest man and founder of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has confirmed that the group plans to take its fertiliser business public in 2028, while joking about Nigerian investors who have been calling for a “board meeting” after buying shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Dangote made the remarks during an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Sunday, September 20, while discussing plans to bring more investors into his businesses. He said the group was looking to expand its shareholder base and allow more people to become partners.

“No, we have actually everything we do by ourselves. We don’t have partners. But that’s why we are now looking for all these massive number of people to now become our partners,” Dangote said.

He then acknowledged the viral social media trend involving Nigerians who recently bought shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and have jokingly presented themselves as new owners and executives of the business.

“You must have seen that they’ve been calling me now for a board meeting,” Dangote said.

The remark comes as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering continues to attract interest from Nigerian retail investors. The offer has been marketed as a “people’s IPO”, allowing members of the public to acquire shares in the refinery.

Some new shareholders have taken to social media to joke about their new status, with some sharing certificates featuring their photographs and titles such as “chief investment officer” and “co-founder and partner”. Others have posted videos about monitoring the refinery’s performance and holding virtual meetings with Dangote.

Meanwhile, Dangote confirmed that the group’s fertiliser business would also be listed on the stock market. He said the company planned to pursue an IPO and described its ambition to become the world’s largest fertiliser company.

“Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, we will IPO it. It’s going to be the biggest fertiliser company on earth,” he said.

Asked when the fertiliser IPO would take place, Dangote gave 2028 as the timeline.

“Yes, it will be 2028,” he said.

Dangote Fertiliser operates a $2.5 billion plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, with an annual production capacity of about three million tonnes of urea. The group plans to increase its fertiliser production capacity to about 12 million tonnes annually by 2028 through the expansion of its Nigerian operations and a proposed plant in Ethiopia.