How the planned Dangote Refinery IPO compares to Saudi Aramco's 2019 listing — and where the compari...

Comparisons between the Dangote IPO and Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing come up often, usually to illustrate how large the Dangote deal could be. The comparison is useful for context, but the two companies and deals differ enough that it shouldn’t be read as a prediction of similar outcomes.

Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state oil giant, listed on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange in December 2019 in what became the largest IPO in history at the time, raising roughly $25.6 billion by selling a small fraction of the company.

Aramco is an integrated oil and gas producer with enormous crude reserves and production, backed by the Saudi state, and it has consistently ranked among the most valuable companies in the world by market capitalization.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a different kind of business: it’s a refining and petrochemicals company — it processes crude oil into fuel and other products rather than owning oil reserves and pumping crude itself. It’s privately built by Dangote Group with NNPC holding a 20% stake, and it’s targeting a listing on Nigeria’s NGX, a much smaller exchange than Tadawul by total market capitalization.

Reported valuation estimates for Dangote’s refinery — commonly cited between roughly $39 billion and $50 billion — are analyst and media estimates, not a confirmed IPO valuation, and are far below Aramco’s valuation, which has been counted in the trillions of dollars.

Where the comparison does hold up: if it proceeds as currently targeted, the Dangote IPO would likely be the largest ever listing on an African exchange, similar to how Aramco’s was record-setting for global IPOs generally — and both deals share a common thread of being government-linked energy assets going partially public in emerging or frontier markets, drawing significant international investor attention.

The practical lesson for investors is to treat Aramco as a useful reference point for what a landmark national energy IPO can look like operationally and in media coverage — not as a scale or valuation benchmark for what Dangote’s refinery is actually worth. Once an official Dangote prospectus is published, its own disclosed financials will be the only reliable basis for valuing the deal.

How to participate in the Dangote IPO with Daba

The Dangote IPO has not yet been priced, allocated or opened for subscription.

When the official subscription window opens, Daba will facilitate participation for its eligible account-holders internationally, through Daba’s compliant Nigerian-market channel operated in partnership with a licensed Nigerian securities broker. The executing partner is a SEC-Nigeria-licensed capital-market operator and NGX dealing member.

If you would like to be positioned to participate when the window opens, we suggest the following five steps.

None of these steps commits you to invest.

1. Create your Daba account. Create a Daba account at dabafinance.com/register — takes a few minutes.

2. Pick individual or business. Choose whether to onboard as an individual or as a business / entity (trust, personal investment company, family investment vehicle). Both are supported. Business onboarding is somewhat more document-intensive but the access, execution and repatriation mechanics are identical.

3. Complete KYC (and KYB for businesses). Provide the documents requested by Daba’s onboarding flow. This is a one-time step that unlocks access to every product on the Daba platform, not just the Dangote IPO.

4. Check the rules in your own jurisdiction. Participation in a foreign securities offering may be subject to the rules of your own country of residence — including registration, tax and reporting obligations. You are responsible for understanding and complying with those rules. If in doubt, consult a qualified adviser in your jurisdiction. Daba does not provide tax, legal or investment advice.

5. Express your interest via the Daba interest form. Once your account is KYC-approved, complete the Dangote IPO interest form on the Daba platform. Expressing interest is not an application to subscribe; it lets Daba notify you the moment the official subscription window opens, with the prospectus-approved terms, minimum lot, funding instructions and application deadline. When notified, you will be able to fund your Daba account and submit a subscription application through the Daba platform, subject to Daba’s onboarding checks and to allocation by the issuer’s appointed bookrunners.

Daba does not guarantee allocation. Allocation is determined by the issuer and its appointed bookrunners under the terms of the SEC-Nigeria-approved prospectus. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or a recommendation to invest in any security.

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DISCLAIMER

This article is published for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, and does not contain, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, and it is not, and does not contain, investment advice, tax advice or a personal recommendation.

Any future participation in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals IPO referenced in this hub is subject to (i) the terms of the issuer’s official SEC-Nigeria-approved prospectus, once and if published; (ii) allocation processes conducted by the Nigerian Exchange, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the issuer’s appointed bookrunners — Daba does not determine or guarantee allocation; (iii) the eligibility of the investor under the laws applicable to that investor in the investor’s country of residence, which the investor is responsible for verifying; and (iv) Daba’s onboarding, KYC and CCI (Certificate of Capital Importation) requirements.

Daba will facilitate participation for its eligible account-holders internationally through a partnership with a SEC Nigeria- licensed capital-market operator and NGX dealing member. Investment in securities involves risk, including risk of loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.