How to read the Dangote Refinery IPO prospectus

A prospectus is long and written in legal language, but most of it is detail. For the Dangote Petroleum Refinery offer, these are the sections worth your time. (The prospectus is available via the offer portal, ipo.dangote.com.)

1. Offer terms and timetable

   The summary: 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each, minimum subscription of 10 shares (₦5,250), applications in multiples of 10, offer period 14 September to 13 October 2026. Check the exact closing date and whether payment is due in full with the application — in this offer, it is, and late applications are rejected.

2. Use of proceeds

   Where your money goes. Net proceeds of about ₦2.11 trillion are earmarked for the refinery’s expansion: roughly 32.5% for process units and equipment, 39.8% for utilities, offsites and infrastructure, and 27.6% for construction and installation — aiming to double crude-processing capacity from 700,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029. A red flag in any prospectus is vague use of proceeds: “general corporate purposes” with no breakdown deserves scepticism.

3. Business description

   Understand what the company actually does. The refinery, which started operations in 2024, supplies most of Nigeria’s domestic petrol and exports jet fuel and other products to African and European markets. Ask yourself whether you understand the business well enough to explain it to a friend.

4. Financial information

   The figures released with the offer show revenue above $13 billion and net profit of $1.82 billion in the first half of 2026, reversing a $476 million loss in 2025. Read the trend, not just the headline: one strong half-year after a loss-making year means the recovery is recent. Check how much of the profit survives after debt servicing and planned spending.

5. Risk factors

   The most honest section of any prospectus. The refinery’s disclosures flag adequate and timely crude-oil supply as a key risk, alongside refining margins, crude prices, foreign-exchange movements, the cost and timing of the expansion, debt levels, related-party transactions, and litigation. If the risk section is longer and more specific than the growth story, take that seriously.

6. Dividend policy and retail incentives

   The prospectus contains a dividend policy section and a retail incentive scheme for qualifying subscribers. Read them before assuming anything about payouts — a dividend policy is not a dividend promise.

7. Management, governance and allotment terms

   Skim who runs the company and the allotment rules: the 30% oversubscription provision, the full-allotment threshold, and how shares reach your account. Note that only a small fraction of the post-offer company is being offered to the public — you are buying a slice, not control.

Quick summary

• Offer terms: what you pay, the minimum, the deadline (13 Oct 2026).
• Use of proceeds: ~₦2.11tn toward doubling refinery capacity by 2029.
• Financials: strong H1 2026 after a loss-making 2025 — the recovery is recent.
• Risks: crude supply, margins, FX, debt and expansion timing — read this section twice.