Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Tuesday, October 6, approved the offer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering (IPO) in the country but restricted it to high-net-worth individuals and professional investors, a week before the offer, which opened on September 14, closes on October 13, as Aliko Dangote seeks to spread ownership of the Nigerian refinery across Africa.
The approval followed an application by Stanbic IBTC Capital, acting for the refinery. SBG Securities Uganda has been authorised to market and offer the shares to eligible Ugandan investors.
The CMA said the offer must not be promoted through indiscriminate advertising or mass solicitation aimed at the public, and confirmed that Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission had already approved the IPO and its prospectus.
The regulator stressed that its approval is not an endorsement or recommendation of the offer or its investment merits.
It also warned investors about the risks of buying securities listed abroad, including foreign exchange, market, custody and tax risks.
The approval covers marketing and distribution within Uganda only.
The offer itself is being conducted in Nigeria and seeks about $1.6 billion by selling shares at ₦525 each, which implies a valuation of roughly $47.6 billion to $49 billion, depending on the exchange rate.
Dangote has marketed it as a “people’s IPO” that targets as many as 10 million retail investors across Africa and beyond.
Uganda’s approval came days after Kenya also cleared the offer for eligible investors. The prospectus says investors outside Nigeria may take part only where their own country’s laws and regulations allow it, so access depends on each market’s rules.
The offer in both countries relates to the existing refinery in Nigeria, not Dangote’s planned refinery in Lamu, Kenya, where Dangote and President William Ruto broke ground on September 30.
The Nigerian refinery began operations in 2024 after about $20 billion of investment and the IPO is meant to help fund its expansion
