Dangote Cement Adds Goldman Sachs and UBS for $1 Billion London Listing

Dangote Cement has added Goldman Sachs and UBS as bookrunners for a London listing that could raise about $1 billion as early as November, deepening the syndicate for what would be one of the largest equity offerings by an African company on a global exchange in years.

The transaction, reported by Bloomberg and widely syndicated, is structured as a secondary sale in which existing shareholders would sell roughly 10% of the company. Investor meetings are scheduled to begin on October 27 in London, South Africa and Dubai, with the timing dependent on market conditions.

A secondary sale, not new capital

The distinction matters. In a secondary offering, proceeds go to the selling shareholders rather than to the company. Dangote Cement would not receive the cash; instead, the sale would widen the shareholder base and give the stock an international investor register and a second pool of liquidity alongside its Nigerian Exchange quotation.

The company has been here before. It first explored a London listing in 2011 and revisited the idea in 2018, shelving it amid UK listing requirements and the demands of building the Dangote refinery near Lagos. Aliko Dangote revived the plan in May 2026, telling the Financial Times that recent UK rule changes had made London more attractive and that a dual listing had been under consideration for years. Shareholders approved a secondary listing at the July annual general meeting, and the company held a capital markets day in London on September 21.

Why London, and why now

The bookrunner line-up is heavy with international names. Citigroup, JPMorgan and Standard Bank are global coordinators, and First Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates NBD have joined as bookrunners, a blend of Western and Gulf institutions that reflects the company's Gulf investor exposure.

The offering also arrives in a busy window for the Dangote group. Dangote Petroleum Refinery's initial public offering in Lagos is running in parallel, and the group has tapped debt markets repeatedly in 2026. Taken together, the transactions are a coordinated effort to raise money from public markets for several businesses at once.

The valuation question

Dangote holds about 86% of Dangote Cement, a stake worth roughly N15.63 trillion ($11.7 billion) at the end of September, when the shares closed at N1,066.70. That ownership concentration is central to the offer's appeal and its risk: international investors are being invited into a company with a single controlling shareholder whose larger strategic interests extend beyond cement.

The company's earnings give the pitch substance. Revenue rose 21.4% to N2.51 trillion in the six months to June 2026, and profit after tax climbed 22.7% to N638.5 billion, with EBITDA of N1.19 trillion. Full-year 2025 profit after tax more than doubled to N1.015 trillion on revenue of N4.31 trillion and sales of 27.5 million tonnes.

What to watch

Investors should watch the price range and the eventual level of demand when the offering opens to institutions. A well-subscribed deal at a valuation premium to the Lagos quote would validate the argument that African industrial assets are undervalued by global markets. A disappointing book would raise harder questions about how international investors price single-owner, emerging-market industrial champions.