The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) has secured a US$1 billion underwriting programme ahead of its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO), marking a major step toward broadening investment in one of Africa’s most strategically significant industrial assets.
The programme, structured by Marob Strategies and Consulting DIFC Ltd and Lilium Capital Group, comprises a completed and funded US$600 million private placement and an additional US$400 million underwriting commitment to support the planned IPO.
The US$600 million private placement was underwritten and funded by Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV, a subsidiary of Lilium Capital Group.
The advisers said Marob Strategies and Lilium Capital are now coordinating the distribution of the underwriting participation across Global Africa, with sovereign wealth funds, governments, institutional investors and other eligible investors being approached.
According to the firms, the response so far has been strong, reflecting growing institutional interest in large-scale African assets with the potential to generate long-term economic value.
Beyond raising capital for the refinery, the transaction is expected to promote greater intra-African investment and contribute to the development of a more integrated African capital market, particularly within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The US$1 billion programme is also positioned as a broader effort to deepen African capital markets, expand ownership of a strategic African enterprise and demonstrate the capacity of African institutions to mobilise long-term capital for industrialisation, energy security, import substitution and trade integration.
Dangote: Deal Shows Confidence in Refinery
President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, described the transaction as an important milestone for both the refinery and African capital markets.
“This is an important milestone for DPRP and for African capital markets,” Dangote said.
He said the successful completion of the private placement, alongside the US$400 million underwriting commitment from Pan-African Refinery Investment SPV, demonstrated investor confidence in the refinery’s strategic importance.
Dangote added that the transaction would create an opportunity for broader participation by African and Caribbean sovereign wealth funds, governments and institutional investors across Global Africa.
He also commended the work of Marob Strategies and Lilium Capital in establishing a platform capable of attracting a wider pool of institutional investors to the planned IPO.
Investors Show Appetite for African Assets
Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, Chairman of Marob Strategies, said the transaction demonstrated the growing appetite for African-led capital markets deals that provide investors with exposure to transformative assets on the continent.
Oramah said Marob Strategies was now focused on a disciplined distribution of the underwriting participation across Global Africa, including engagement with sovereign wealth funds, governments and institutional investors.
He described the level of interest as evidence that investors are increasingly willing to participate in major African capital markets transactions involving assets with strategic and long-term economic significance.
“The success of this transaction paves the way for many more such transactions in the future,” Oramah said.
Lilium Capital Eyes More Transformative Projects
Simon Tiemtoré, Chairman of Lilium Capital Group, said the mandate was consistent with the firm’s objective of connecting major African investment opportunities with institutional investors across the continent and international markets.
He said mobilising long-term capital for strategic assets such as the Dangote refinery would support industrialisation, strengthen African capital markets and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
“We are proud to support DPRP on this landmark transaction and look forward to mobilising capital for more transformative projects that create lasting value for Africa,” Tiemtoré said.
The latest development comes as the Dangote refinery continues to occupy a central position in Nigeria’s efforts to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and strengthen domestic refining capacity.
With the planned IPO, the refinery could also open a new chapter in the financing and ownership of large-scale African infrastructure, potentially allowing a wider pool of African and international institutional investors to participate in the fortunes of one of the continent’s largest privately developed energy projects.
If successfully completed, the listing would not only represent a major capital-market event for Dangote Industries but could also serve as a test of the depth and capacity of African capital markets to finance large-scale industrial assets from within the continent.
SOURCE: tgnews.com.ng