Dangote Refinery IPO extended to 27 October. Kenya and Uganda built their own doors in.

The books stay open two more weeks on what the Financial Times has described as Africa’s largest ever IPO. The Nigerian offer, 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each, targeted ordinary investors with a ₦5,250 minimum. And the extension’s stated reason is the offer’s cross-border chapter: regulated routes into the same share sale for investors in Kenya and Uganda.

The extension: what we know

On Monday 12 October, the refinery announced a two-week extension to the offer, approved by the SEC. The Nigerian offer now closes on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Aliko Dangote said subscriptions already amount to more than three or four times what the company intended to raise, and framed the extra time as a way to bring more African investors in rather than raise additional funds. The offer banners across this site now count down to the new date.

Kenya’s GDR route

Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority approved a short-form prospectus on 5 October, submitted by Renaissance Capital (Kenya) Limited, letting eligible Kenyan investors buy into the IPO through global depository receipts (GDRs). Each GDR represents one underlying Dangote Refinery share, and the receipts are to be listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The key numbers: 728,971,962 GDRs at KSh53.50 each, about KSh39 billion (roughly $300 million), or about 17.8% of the whole IPO. The minimum subscription is 2,000 GDRs: KSh107,000 (about $824), in multiples of 100 after that. That is a far higher floor than the Nigerian minimum, which works out to about KSh490.

Seven licensed firms are facilitating access: CPF Capital, SBG Securities/Stanbic Bank Kenya, Francis Drummond, National Bank of Kenya/Access Bank, Sterling Capital, Kestrel Capital and AXYS Investment Bank. Stanbic Bank Kenya acts as custodian. Investors subscribe through a dedicated USSD code or online platforms, paying the full amount upfront; cash payments are not permitted.

The fine print on the Kenyan offer

This offer can lapse. If allocated shares and fully paid applications do not reach KSh50 million, the offer is deemed unsuccessful and application monies are refunded without interest.

The NSE listing is not done yet. The exchange has approved admission, but the GDRs are only issued and listed if SEC Nigeria grants approval or a no-objection. Without it, investors keep holding the underlying shares in an omnibus account, with liquidity through sales on the NGX.

GDR holders also get fewer perks: no Retail Investor Incentive Programme, no direct voting rights (exercised collectively through the nominee structure), and no mechanism to convert GDRs into the underlying shares. Dividends are paid, converted into Kenyan shillings after taxes and fees. At least 15% of the GDR pool must stay in Kenyan hands, and there is a tax wrinkle: no active double-taxation agreement exists between Kenya and Nigeria. The offer is not underwritten, so heavy demand could trigger a scale-back under a CMA-approved methodology.

Uganda’s velvet rope

Uganda took the opposite approach. In a public notice dated 6 October, the Capital Markets Authority authorised SBG Securities Uganda Limited to market and facilitate the offer, but restricted participation to high-net-worth individuals and professional or institutional investors. Ordinary retail investors are shut out.

Indiscriminate advertising and mass solicitation are barred: the offer may not be promoted to the general public. SBG Securities Uganda is, for now, the only authorised intermediary, and any marketing material needs the CMA’s written no-objection first.

The regulator was blunt about what its approval is not. It has not endorsed the prospectus and has not assessed the commercial merits, financial viability or expected performance of the investment. It flagged foreign exchange, custody, market and taxation risks for cross-border investors. No separate Ugandan deadline was stated, so the 27 October close applies.

What happens next

Allotments are expected around 11–12 November for the Kenyan GDRs; the Nigerian allotment timeline runs about two weeks later than first indicated, with the official announcement after the 27 October close confirming the dates. The NSE GDR listing is targeted for 8 December, subject to SEC Nigeria clearance, while the Nigerian shares are expected on the NGX in November 2026. Refunds for unallotted shares or an unsuccessful offer come back automatically; Kenyan GDR applicants should note the no-interest refund term if the KSh50 million threshold is missed.

This is a description of the offer’s closing-day position, not investment advice. The definitive terms are in the official offer documents. Sources: Nairametrics, Nairametrics, Capital FM, Kenyan Business Feed, Kikubolane, Uganda Business News, Citizen Digital