Nigerian-billionaire Aliko Dangote on Monday launched Africa's largest share sale yet with the initial public offering of his oil refinery, opening up ownership of the plant to retail investors and raising money for its expansion.

The offer of 4.1-billion ordinary shares at 525 naira each opened at 0800 local time (0700 GMT) and will close on October 13.

If fully subscribed, it would raise 2.15-trillion naira ($1.6-billion), though that could rise to roughly $2.1-billion if the offer is oversubscribed and the company decides to use a greenshoe option to issue more shares.

Chris Chijioke, a business owner based in the country's commercial capital Lagos, said he would buy 2 000 shares as the size of the refinery and Dangote's record as a businessman made a strong case.

He expressed concern, however, about the price of the share sale, saying that if plans to double the refinery's capacity get delayed then the offer price would not be justified.

"I personally think it is overvalued," he told Reuters.

REFINERY HAS BENEFITED FROM IRAN WAR
Built at a cost of about $20-billion on the outskirts of Lagos, the refinery has reshaped Nigeria's fuel market since it started operations in 2024.

It supplies most of Nigeria's domestically produced gasoline and has benefited financially from supply disruptions linked to the Iran war, which increased demand for Dangote's jet fuel across Africa and in Europe.

Africa's richest man has marketed the offer to ordinary Nigerians, who can participate by buying as few as 10 shares through fintech and other digital investment platforms.

Ibrahim Abubakar, a journalist, said he would take up roughly 2,850 shares because he believed the refinery was "too big to fail".

It processes 700,000 barrels of crude a day and hopes to increase that to 1.4 million barrels by 2029. The offer values the plant at about $47-billion, according to Reuters calculations.

Dangote has said he expects interest in the IPO to mirror a private placement in July that was 3.7 times oversubscribed.