The Kenyan regulator approved a global depository receipt submitted by Renaissance Capital (Kenya), allowing eligible local investors to participate in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO through negotiable certificates representing the underlying shares, which remain in custody in Nigeria. The GDRs are expected to be listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, subject to Nigeria’s SEC, and the authority also cleared at least seven other licensed intermediaries working with Nigerian counterparts.
The IPO itself opened September 14 as a 4.1 billion-share offer at N525 per share, aiming to raise about N2.15 trillion (roughly $1.6 billion) to fund a capacity doubling from 700,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day. It is described as Africa’s largest share sale, with strong early demand reportedly exceeding $7 million committed in the first hour.
The move is part of a wider East Africa strategy: Dangote is planning a $16 billion, 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery near Lamu, Kenya, on the LAPSSET corridor, with Kenya and Rwanda offered a combined 30 percent stake in that project, payable over four years.