Audio By Carbonatix
Dangote Cement Plc, owned by Africa’s richest man, has revived plans for a share sale in London that could raise about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Nigerian company, controlled by Aliko Dangote, has approached investment bankers to discuss a potential U.K. listing, said the people, who asked not to be named as the talks aren’t public.
Once banks have been appointed, it will probably take at least five months to complete the process, one of the people said. The cement maker is also considering issuing a debut Eurobond, according to two different people familiar with the matter.
Discussions are ongoing and a listing of Africa’s biggest cement maker may not go ahead, the people said.
“We have not, to the best of my knowledge, taken such a decision,” Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Cement’s spokesman in Lagos, said in an emailed response to questions, without commenting on the banker talks.
Fresh capital would enable Dangote Cement to fund expansion plans in sub-Saharan Africa and comply with a demand from the Lagos bourse that listed companies should have a free float of at least 20 percent, regardless of where the shares are traded.
The company sees London as a more favorable place to attract about $1 billion than in its home base of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, where no company has raised more than Starcomms Plc’s $796 million in 2008.
Dangote Cement, which has a Lagos free float of 8.9 percent and a market valuation of $12.2 billion, mulled raising equity in London in 2010. At the time, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley helped it prepare a sale that could have raised as much as $5 billion, before the move was abandoned.
The revival of the plan comes as Dangote Cement shares climb to near records as the Nigerian economy recovers from a downturn caused by the 2014 slump in oil prices.
The economy of Africa’s most populous nation went into recession in 2016 as government revenue plunged. Nigerian stocks are up 11 percent this year in dollar terms, the sixth best performance globally according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Aliko Dangote has a net worth of $13.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His Dangote Industries Ltd. conglomerate has interests in sugar, flour and packaged food as well as controlling the cement company.
The 60-year-old has repeatedly expressed a desire to bid for London’s Arsenal Football Club and is building a 650,000 barrel-a-day oil refinery near Lagos, which will cost more than $10 billion.
Latest Stories
-
Sight and Sound: Fans go into frenzy at Hitz FM Rep Ur Jersey as PSG retain UCL title
15 minutes -
Beyond dust and smoke: Scientists warn dangerous radon gas may be increasing lung cancer risks in Weija, McCarthy Hill and parts of Ghana
51 minutes -
EPA, Columbia University partner to map air pollution across Ghana — even in places without monitors
56 minutes -
Municipal Assemblies gain real-time pollution data as Breathe Accra expands air quality monitoring network
59 minutes -
2026 JoyNews Impact Makers honouree Dr Akunzule donates award prize to support women basket weavers in Upper East
1 hour -
Multimedia Group joins Sammy Gyamfi to mourn late father-in-law
2 hours -
Arsenal heartbreak as PSG win shootout to retain UCL title
3 hours -
Fans go wild at Hitz FM Rep Ur Jersey as PSG retain UCL title in penalty thriller
3 hours -
Xenophobia: NUGS President warns of mass action if gov’t renews Gold Fields lease
4 hours -
Photos from 2026 Hitz FM Rep Ur Jersey
5 hours -
Sterling arrested on suspicion of drug-driving
5 hours -
Ageing fire tenders, lack of hydrants threaten emergency response in Tema Region
6 hours -
Fans defy rain to watch Champions League final at Hitz FM Rep Ur Jersey
6 hours -
Bijou Homes showcases affordable living at 2026 Open House Fair
6 hours -
Barker-Vormawor challenges legitimacy of Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill approval
6 hours