Africa’s largest planned initial public offering has drawn nearly 1 billion dollars of demand from pension funds alone, Bloomberg reported. The Public Investment Corporation, which oversees almost 220 billion dollars including pensions for South African state workers, asked for about 500 million dollars of shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, and Nigerian pension fund administrators in the Contributory Pension Scheme, which covers about 11 million members across 20 funds, applied for about 400 to 500 million dollars, part of it covered by an earlier private placement.
The offering, launched on September 14 at 525 naira a share for 4.1 billion shares, seeks to raise between 1.6 billion and 2.1 billion dollars and values the refining complex at about 50 billion dollars. Total applications have reached about 5.85 trillion naira, about 4.1 billion dollars, from close to 4 million applicants, and the company may use a 30 percent over-allotment option to lift the raise toward 2.1 billion dollars.
The pension demand matters because it was not automatic. Nigeria’s pension regulator issued a one off waiver in May 2026 allowing pension administrators to invest despite the usual profitability and dividend history tests, and the PIC, which declined to comment, would be investing South African public worker savings in a Nigerian refinery.
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to approve the allotment on November 17. Trading is scheduled to start 15 business days after allotment, which points to December 8, though the company is targeting a start before the end of November, subject to approvals.