By Habeeb Ibrahim
Aliko Dangote has announced plans to take his fertiliser business public in 2028, following the same path as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which he previously announced would be offered to public investors.
Dangote made the disclosure in an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua at the Qatar Economic Forum UNGA Special Edition in New York.
While the ongoing refinery IPO is targeting 10 million shareholders, Dangote said the fertiliser business would first undergo a major expansion before its planned listing.
“Yes, we will IPO it. It’s going to be the biggest fertiliser company on earth,” he said.
Dangote had earlier announced plans to take the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to the capital market, with the current IPO designed to give millions of investors an opportunity to own shares in the refinery.
The refinery IPO was launched as part of what Dangote described as an effort to broaden African participation in the ownership of major businesses.
The businessman is now extending the strategy to the fertiliser business, which currently operates a $2.5 billion plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The plant has an annual urea production capacity of about three million tonnes, but Dangote said the group plans to increase production to 12 million tonnes.
The expansion will also include investments in potash and phosphate mines and 2.2 million tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) production.
Dangote said the expanded fertiliser business could eventually meet more than 40 per cent of Africa’s fertiliser demand.
He linked the investment to the fertiliser supply crisis experienced during the Russia-Ukraine war, saying Africa should no longer depend on other countries for critical agricultural inputs.
The planned IPO is coming alongside Dangote’s wider investment programme across Africa, which he said would involve between $46 billion and $50 billion.
Meanwhile, the refinery IPO has already generated significant interest among retail investors, with Dangote saying the group is targeting 10 million shareholders.
The refinery itself is also expected to expand from its current 700,000 barrels per day capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the end of 2028 or the first quarter of 2029.
Dangote also disclosed plans for the refinery to eventually have a primary listing in Nigeria and a proposed secondary listing in New York.
As the refinery IPO continues to attract attention, including social media memes and skits from new shareholders, Dangote joked that some investors were already demanding board meetings.
“You must have seen that they’ve been calling me now for a board meeting,” he said.
