Dangote Brings Fertiliser IPO Plan Forward to 2027

BREAKING NEWSSeptember 30, 2026 at 3:21 PM UTC

TLDR

Aliko Dangote plans to advance listing of Dangote Fertiliser to 2027, aiming for public ownership at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Dangote Fertiliser set to increase production capacity with 6 additional lines, targeting about 12 million tonnes annually by late 2028.
Dangote's expansion extends to Ethiopia, partnering with the government for a 3 million-tonne urea production plant.

Aliko Dangote plans to list Dangote Fertiliser in 2027, bringing forward a timetable he set only a week earlier as the company prepares to quadruple production capacity. “Sometime next year we hope to list it. Let it be owned by the people,” Dangote said at an investor meeting at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on September 29.

The proposed listing would follow the public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which opened in Nigeria this month. Dangote had said on September 21 that the fertiliser company would go public in 2028. No offer size, valuation or date for the 2027 transaction has been disclosed.

Dangote Fertiliser operates a plant at Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos with annual urea capacity of about 3 million metric tonnes. The company plans to add 6 production lines, with delivery expected between late 2028 and early 2029. The expansion would take annual capacity to about 12 million tonnes.

The group is also expanding outside Nigeria. It is developing a fertiliser complex in Ethiopia’s Somali region with the government through Ethiopian Investment Holdings. The project is designed to produce about 3 million tonnes of urea a year. Dangote has also discussed investments in phosphate and potash as the group seeks to broaden its fertiliser products.

The IPO plan forms part of Dangote’s push to bring more of his industrial businesses to public markets. Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar and NASCON are already listed, while the refinery’s share sale is underway. Dangote made the announcement in Kenya ahead of the groundbreaking for the group’s planned 700,000-barrel-a-day Lamu refinery.

Key Takeaways

The timing means investors in a 2027 Dangote Fertiliser IPO would be buying into a company before most of its planned new capacity comes online. The existing Lagos operation has about 3 million tonnes of annual urea capacity, while the target of 12 million tonnes depends on 6 new production lines expected from late 2028 into 2029 and other projects, including Ethiopia. That makes execution of the expansion an important part of any future valuation. A public listing could give Dangote another source of equity capital for that buildout while allowing existing shareholders to sell part of their stakes and giving the business a market valuation. The company also enters the process at a time when fertiliser supply has become more important because of disruptions linked to wars, trade restrictions and energy costs. Africa remains dependent on imported fertiliser in many markets, while Dangote already exports urea beyond Nigeria. The change from a 2028 listing timetable to 2027 also shows how quickly the group’s capital-markets plans are moving after the refinery IPO. The key details still missing are the exchange, number of shares to be sold, valuation and how much of the proceeds would fund expansion rather than go to existing shareholders.

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