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

Dangote Cement has added Goldman Sachs and UBS as bookrunners for a proposed secondary share sale worth about $1 billion in London, according to people familiar with the preparations, pushing Africa's largest cement producer closer to a listing that could take place as early as November.

The plan involves existing shareholders selling approximately 10 per cent of the company through a listing on the London Stock Exchange, with proceeds going to the selling shareholders rather than the business itself. The timetable remains subject to market conditions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

A syndicate assembled for a reintroduction

Goldman Sachs and UBS join an international banking group that already includes Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Standard Bank Group as global co-ordinators, with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates NBD also added as bookrunners, Bloomberg reported on October 15. Dangote Cement, Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment on the report.

Bankers are positioning the transaction as a reintroduction of the company to international capital markets rather than a conventional initial public offering. The group has been listed in Lagos since 2010, and shareholders authorised the board at the July 2 annual general meeting to pursue an international listing and a potential sale by its majority shareholder, Aliko Dangote.

Why London, and why now

An investor engagement programme is scheduled to begin on October 27, with meetings planned in London, South Africa and Dubai, following earlier outreach that included a capital markets day in London on September 21 and pitches to investors in late September. A London line would give the company a currency for international transactions, a broader institutional shareholder base and a valuation benchmark outside the NGX, where the shares are already valued at more than $12 billion.

The timing also follows a strong operational run. For the half-year to June 30, Dangote Cement reported group revenue of N2.51 trillion, up 21.4 per cent year on year, EBITDA of N1.19 trillion, up 25.8 per cent, and profit after tax of N638.5 billion, up 22.7 per cent, across 11 African countries with installed capacity exceeding 55 million tonnes a year.

What the deal is not

Because the sale is secondary, no new capital flows into the company's factories or expansion projects; the beneficiaries are the selling shareholders, principally the majority owner. The transaction still requires regulatory approvals, final terms and market conditions to be met, and a November debut is not guaranteed if credit markets remain volatile.

Why it matters for Nigeria

The listing would be the most visible test yet of how global investors price a major African industrial company outside its home market, and its reception will influence other NGX issuers considering dual listings. It also comes as the Dangote group pursues a separate public offering for its refinery, making this autumn the group's most ambitious stretch of capital markets activity.