AFC Takes Equity Stake in Dangote Refinery After Repayment of $300m Loan

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The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has deepened its financial relationship with Dangote Petroleum Refinery after leading a group of strategic investors in the refinery’s recently concluded $2.5 billion private placement.

The investment marks a shift in AFC’s role from lender to equity investor in one of Africa’s largest industrial projects, following the full repayment of a $300 million loan the development finance institution previously extended to Dangote Industries.

AFC announced that it led a consortium of strategic investors in the equity transaction, which represents the refinery’s first capital raise involving investors outside its existing shareholder base. The broader placement attracted international and African institutional investors, sovereign-linked investment vehicles, development finance institutions and strategic partners.

The $2.5 billion placement was heavily oversubscribed, receiving demand equivalent to 3.7 times the initial offer size. Dangote Petroleum Refinery said the proceeds would be deployed towards expansion, strengthening its balance sheet and providing greater financial flexibility as the business scales its operations.

From project financing to equity participation

AFC’s relationship with the Dangote refinery dates back to the project’s development phase, when it provided a $300 million senior loan to Dangote Industries. The financing formed part of a broader funding package of about $5.6 billion assembled from development finance institutions, commercial lenders and export credit agencies.

The financing helped support the construction of the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery and the adjoining fertiliser complex in the Lekki Free Zone.

AFC has now confirmed that the $300 million facility has been fully repaid. Its participation in the private placement therefore gives the institution a new position in the project as an equity investor rather than solely as a creditor.

The corporation had also played a role in arranging financing for the refinery, including serving as a co-coordinating bank on a $3 billion syndicated facility. In 2024, AFC partnered with Access Bank to provide the refinery with a working-capital facility to support crude purchases during commissioning and the early stages of production.

Fresh capital for expansion

The new equity injection comes as Dangote Petroleum Refinery pursues an expansion strategy aimed at increasing its footprint in Africa’s refined petroleum products market.

The refinery, which began operations in 2024, has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and has emerged as a major source of refined petroleum products for Nigeria and other African markets.

The company has also been preparing for a broader capital-market strategy. Dangote Group has announced plans to pursue a public listing for the refinery, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange also expressing interest in a potential secondary listing after a Nigerian listing.

The latest private placement could therefore serve as an important step in broadening the refinery’s investor base before a potential public offering.

The equity transaction is separate from another major financing arrangement announced earlier this year. Afreximbank has underwritten $2.5 billion of a $4 billion, five-year syndicated loan for the refinery, with the facility designed in part to refinance existing obligations and align the company’s financing structure with its operations.

For AFC, the investment extends its exposure to a project it helped finance from its early development stage and signals continued confidence in Dangote Refinery’s long-term expansion prospects.

The corporation did not disclose the amount it invested in the private placement, the number of shares acquired or the size of its resulting ownership stake. The $2.5 billion figure represents the total capital raised from the wider group of investors, not AFC’s individual contribution.