Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has chosen Botswana as the dual host for what’s set to be Africa’s largest-ever IPO.
The Nigerian billionaire’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals already the continent’s biggest oil refinery is targeting about $1.6 billion by selling 4.1 billion shares. The money will go toward doubling the plant’s capacity from 700,000 to 1.4 million barrels a day by the end of the decade. Shares are expected to start trading on both the Botswana Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Exchange at the same time in late November or early December.
Botswana is lined up to raise roughly $500 million of that total through depositary receipts issued by Access Bank Botswana. It’s not a normal secondary listing the structure is meant to bring fresh capital into the local market. The Southern African Development Community’s stock exchanges picked Botswana as the main venue for the region, so investors in other SADC countries can buy in through their own brokers.
BSE CEO Aupa Monyatsi said the deal helps establish Botswana as a “regional capital raising hub in the SADC.” The two exchanges plan to ring the bell together under a 1:1 ratio.
The IPO opened in mid-September and was extended to October 27 after demand ran hot Dangote has said interest is already three to four times the target. The move also comes after lobbying that involved Botswana’s President Duma Boko.
If it goes through as planned, it would be the biggest listing Africa has ever seen and give Botswana’s small exchange a high-profile role in the deal.