It’s Not True, Says Spokesman

Ahead of the deadline by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to meet its free-float deficiency, the board and management of Dangote Cement Plc may have began discussions that would lead to a possible $1bn worth share sale in London according to sources close to international newswire- Bloomberg.
The company, majority owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, reportedly approached investment bankers to discuss a potential listing on the London Stock Exchange, a process that could take at least five months to complete, one of the people said.
The cement maker is also considering issuing a debut Eurobond, according to two different people familiar with the matter.
Discussions are ongoing and a listing of Africa’s biggest cement maker may not go ahead, the people said.
But when contacted, Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Group’s spokesman, said in an emailed response to questions, without commenting on the banker talks told Bloomberg: “We have not, to the best of my knowledge, taken such a decision.”
Fresh capital would enable Dangote Cement to fund expansion plans in sub-Saharan Africa and broaden its base of investors. It sees London as a more favorable place to attract about $1 billion than in its home base of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, where no company has raised more in an initial public offering than Starcomms Plc’s $796 million in 2008.
Dangote Cement has a free float in Lagos of 14.9% and a market valuation of $12.3bn. It mulled raising equity in London in 2010. At the time, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley helped it prepare a sale that could have raised as much as $5bn, before the move was abandoned.
The revival of the plan comes as Dangote Cement shares climb to near records as the Nigerian economy recovers from a downturn caused by the 2014 slump in oil prices. The economy of Africa’s most populous nation went into recession in 2016 as government revenue plunged. Nigerian stocks are up 11 percent this year in dollar terms, the sixth best performance globally according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Aliko Dangote has a net worth of $13.5bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His Dangote Industries Ltd. conglomerate has interests in sugar, flour and packaged food as well as controlling the cement company.
The 60-year-old has repeatedly expressed a desire to bid for London’s Arsenal Football Club and is building a 650,000 barrel-a-day oil refinery near Lagos, which will cost more than $10bn.