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Access Bank Botswana will act as the depository receipt issuer for the Southern African portion of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE’s initial public offering (IPO), in a transaction expected to raise $500 million through the local market.
The Nigerian-owned lender’s Botswana unit will facilitate the issuance of depositary receipts, giving investors in the country access to the IPO of the refinery owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
Sheperd Aisam, managing director of Access Bank Botswana, confirmed the bank’s role, while Duduetsang Chappelle-Molloy, the lender’s local head of marketing, said the refinery expects to raise $500 million through the Botswana depositary receipts.
The offering forms part of a wider IPO through which the refinery aims to raise $1.6 billion by selling 4.1 billion shares.
Botswana has also been selected as the host trading venue for the Southern African portion of the listing. Collen Tapfumaneyi, chairman of the Committee of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Stock Exchanges, said the region’s 14 member exchanges agreed to use a single market to simplify trading.
“We’ve then agreed that one amongst us becomes the host trading venue to reduce any complications,” Tapfumaneyi said at an event in Gaborone on Wednesday.
Dangote said demand for the IPO had exceeded the amount the company intended to raise, with interest reportedly reaching more than three or four times the targeted amount.
“We have more than reached our target,” he said in Gaborone.
The refinery extended its IPO period by two weeks to October 27, saying the additional time would allow more investors to participate.
The transaction gives Access Bank Botswana a role in facilitating regional investor participation in one of Africa’s largest planned share offerings, while positioning Botswana as a gateway for Southern African investors seeking exposure to the refinery.
Source: Bloomberg