NAIROBI, Kenya- Uganda has approved the marketing of shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering, joining Kenya in allowing local investors to take part in the Nigerian company’s share sale.
Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority said the offer could be marketed to professional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
SBG Securities Uganda Limited is currently the only intermediary authorised to offer the shares locally.
The regulator barred mass advertising and general public solicitation of the offer.
The approval does not mean the Ugandan regulator has endorsed the investment.
It said it had not assessed the refinery’s commercial prospects or financial viability, and warned investors to consider risks including currency movements, custody arrangements and taxation.
Kenya approved a separate route
Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority approved a short-form prospectus for a global depository receipt, or GDR, submitted by Renaissance Capital Kenya.
The arrangement allows eligible Kenyan investors to access the Nigerian share sale through a local market instrument representing shares in the foreign company.
The CMA has also named seven Kenyan firms to facilitate investor access through local and partner arrangements: CPF Capital and Advisory, SBG Securities, Francis Drummond, National Bank of Kenya, Sterling Capital, Kestrel Capital and AXYS Investment Bank.
The two approvals differ. Uganda has restricted marketing to professional and high-net-worth investors and named one authorised intermediary.
Kenya has approved a GDR structure and licensed firms to help eligible investors participate.
The approvals allow access to the same Nigerian IPO, but do not mean the shares are part of the proposed refinery project in Lamu.
IPO seeks $1.6 billion
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is offering 4.1 billion shares at 525 naira each, aiming to raise about 2.15 trillion naira, or roughly $1.6 billion.
The offer is scheduled to close on October 13.
Proceeds are intended to help finance an expansion that would double the Lagos refinery’s capacity from 700,000 to 1.4 million barrels a day.
The Nigerian refinery began operating in 2024 and has become a major supplier in Nigeria’s fuel market. Its IPO is being presented as a way to widen ownership, while giving the company funds for expansion.
The share sale has drawn attention across the region partly because Dangote is also developing a separate refinery in Kenya’s Lamu County.
That project, valued at about $16 billion, held its groundbreaking ceremony on September 30.
The current IPO covers the existing Nigerian refinery; it does not offer shares in the Lamu project.
