Aliko Dangote is set to keep about 84% of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery once the shares from its public offer are issued, down from 87.27% before it. The offer of 4.1 billion new shares at ₦525 each closed on 27 October 2026. As of 8 November the company had not announced the final result, and trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) is expected around 8 December.
Africa’s richest man gives up so little because he sold nothing. The refinery itself issued new shares to raise about ₦2.15 trillion, or $1.58bn at ₦1,365 to the dollar (Billionaires.Africa, 27 October). Our post on Dangote’s daughters covered the close and the succession; this one is about who owns what.
How New Shares Dilute a Founder
In a primary offering, the company sells new shares and keeps the money. The founder’s share count stays the same while the total grows, so his percentage falls: that is dilution.
According to the prospectus dated 7 September, as reported by Billionaires.Africa, Dangote holds 104,834,654,430 of 120.13 billion shares, or 87.27%. He holds them through Dangote Oil Refining Company (79.09 billion shares), Dangote Industries (17.90 billion), Greenview International Corporation of the Cayman Islands (7.80 billion) and other companies.
The base offer lifts the total to 124.23 billion shares. By our calculation, his unchanged 104.83 billion shares are then 84.39% of the company, a fall of 2.88 percentage points; Billionaires.Africa gives the same figure. Other holders dilute too: NNPC Limited, Nigeria’s state oil company, goes from 6.815% to about 6.59%. The public gets 3.3% of the enlarged company (our calculation).
At ₦525 a share, the enlarged company is worth about ₦65.22 trillion (our calculation), or $47.8bn at the rate Billionaires.Africa used on 5 November.
What the 30% Option Changes for Dangote
An over-allotment option, often called a greenshoe, lets an issuer sell more shares than planned when demand is strong. Here the company may issue up to 30% more new shares, subject to regulatory approval, taking the offer to 5.33 billion shares and about ₦2.8 trillion ($2.05bn) by our calculation. As of 5 November it had not said whether it would (Billionaires.Africa).
If the option is used in full, Dangote’s stake falls to 83.56% by our calculation, a total drop of 3.71 points. To push him below 80%, the company would have to issue about 10.9 billion new shares, more than 2.6 times the base offer.
Separately, people familiar with the deal said Dangote could sell some of his own shares to investors who miss out; no decision had been made (Billionaires.Africa, 27 October). In such a secondary sale his share count falls, and the cash goes to him, not to the refinery.
From a 10% Plan to a 3.3% Offer
In April 2026 the Dangote Group was planning to sell 10% of the refinery through a pan-African IPO, BusinessDay reported. The public offer turned out smaller: 3.3% of the enlarged capital, or about 4.25% with the full option, by our calculation. In July the refinery had also raised $2.5bn in a private placement, Nairametrics reported, citing Reuters.
How Investors Outside Nigeria Buy In
Applications came from 120 countries, including all 54 African nations (Nairametrics, 28 October). Routes for investors abroad:
- Kenya: global depositary receipts (GDRs), certificates that each represent one refinery share held by a custodian. The Capital Markets Authority approved the structure for an East African offer of up to 39 billion shillings ($300.4m), with a listing planned in Nairobi and allotments expected around 12 November (Nairametrics, 7 October).
- Botswana: Gaborone was chosen as the regional venue for depositary receipts, expected to raise $500m. Billionaires.Africa says Access Bank Botswana issues them and local pension funds have been the main source of demand.
- Ethiopia and Egypt: Ethiopia’s regulator approved offers to up to 100 qualified investors, while Egypt was still in talks with its exchange in mid-October (Nairametrics). Billionaires.Africa says Standard Bank Group is part of nominee arrangements for both.
Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that domestic and retail investors alone made $1.5bn to $1.6bn in fully funded commitments (Nairametrics, 27 October). Billionaires.Africa put total orders at about ₦6.4 trillion, roughly three times the amount sought, without naming a source. Like the Ambanis’ Jio listing, the deal raises a large sum for a sliver of the company.
What to watch
- 10 November, when the basis of allotment is due at Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and 17 November, the target for its clearance (Billionaires.Africa; Legit.ng, citing BusinessDay).
- Whether the 30% option is used, and whether Dangote sells any of his own shares.
- The first trade on the NGX, provisionally around 8 December but not yet confirmed.
A fair caveat
We could not open the prospectus; the share counts come from Billionaires.Africa’s reading of it. Demand figures come from unnamed sources, and the final percentages depend on the allotment.
Questions to bring to your advisors
If our company issued new shares, how far could the family’s stake fall before it crossed a threshold that matters under our articles or local law? Who would decide on an over-allotment, and should any of it come from family shares? These are questions to bring to your advisors, not advice.
