The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has led a group of strategic investors in a landmark $2.5 billion private placement by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP), providing fresh capital for the expansion of Nigeria’s largest refining complex.

The transaction, announced yesterday, represents DPRP’s first equity capital raise to bring new investors beyond its legacy ownership structure and attracted strong interest from international and African institutional investors, sovereign-related investment vehicles, development finance institutions and strategic partners.

The private placement was 3.7 times oversubscribed, highlighting growing investor confidence in the refinery and its expansion plans.

DPRP owns the approximately $20 billion integrated refinery and petrochemical complex on a 2,500-hectare site in Lagos. The refinery currently has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, producing petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha and other refined products for Nigerian, African and international markets.

Under Dangote Group’s Vision 2030, the company plans to more than double the refinery’s nameplate capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028.

The adjoining petrochemical plant produces polypropylene from refinery-derived propylene, supplying an important raw material for packaging, textiles, household goods, automotive components, medical products and other manufacturing activities.

According to AFC, its latest investment reinforces its long-standing partnership with Dangote Group and demonstrates its approach of deploying catalytic capital during the development stages of major infrastructure projects before recycling capital into new transformative investments as assets become operational and cash-generative.

AFC previously acted as Co-Coordinating Bank on a $3 billion syndicated loan for DPRP. It also recently received full repayment of its foundational $300 million senior term loan to Dangote Industries Limited, which supported the refinery project from its early development stage.

AFC President and Chief Executive Officer, Samaila Zubairu, said the corporation’s latest participation reflected its continued confidence in the refinery as one of Africa’s most significant industrial assets.

He said AFC had supported the project from its early stages through syndicated financing and working capital support during commissioning, adding that the latest investment would support its next phase of growth.

“This is what long-term partnership looks like: capital that remains engaged as a project develops, becomes operational and matures into a stable, cash-generating industrial platform,” Zubairu said.

He added that the refinery’s progress demonstrated the scale of industrial development and value creation achievable in Africa.

Chairman of DPRP and President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, described the private placement as a strategic move to deepen and institutionalise the company’s shareholder base while raising additional capital to complement internal cash flows and external debt.

He said the transaction would support DPRP’s expansion programme and reinforce the group’s commitment to increasing domestic refining and petrochemical capacity.

Dangote said the expansion would help reduce Africa’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products while strengthening the continent’s energy security.

Meanwhile, DPRP Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, David Bird, said the strong investor demand demonstrated confidence in the refinery’s operational performance, execution capabilities and management.

“The exceptional demand we saw is a testament to our operational excellence, execution capacity, and investor confidence in DPRP’s leadership,” Bird said.