Lukman ABDULMALIK
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) Initial Public Offer, which opened on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on September 14, 2026, attracted N1.476 trillion in subscriptions from 402,634 transactions within its first hour, according to live figures released by the Nigerian Exchange Group.
The offer, comprising 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each, is targeting about N2.15 trillion, roughly $1.6 billion, making it the largest share sale in African history. It closes on October 13, 2026, with listing expected in November.
The minimum subscription is 10 shares, or N5,250, a threshold Dangote Group has marketed as a “people’s IPO” open to millions of small investors across the country.
But a review of the NGX’s history shows that strong opening-day demand has, in several past cases, not translated into lasting value for shareholders who bought in at listing.
At least six companies that debuted on the exchange with considerable investor enthusiasm went on to trade well below their offer prices, in some cases for years, before some eventually recovered.
Airtel Africa Plc listed on the NGX on July 9, 2019, at N363 per share through a cross-border secondary listing that added N1.36 trillion to the exchange’s market capitalisation, while its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange was priced at 80 pence.
Within its first week of trading, the telecommunications company’s shares fell below the offer price, with reports at the time, including one by The Nation newspaper, putting investor losses at N148.4 billion in that week alone.
The stock has since staged one of the strongest recoveries on the exchange, closing at N6,300 as of August 11, 2026, and ranking as the NGX’s most valuable stock with a market capitalisation of about N23.7 trillion.
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc was listed by introduction on October 20, 2009, at N8.50 per share for its 7.93 billion units.
The stock declined steadily over the following decade, touching an all-time low of 80 kobo in March 2020, before a strong rally that took it to an all-time high of about N30.20 in July 2025.
The company, now a subsidiary of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc following an acquisition, was trading at N18.45 as of June 1, 2026.
Omatek Ventures Plc, listed on January 27, 2009, and once Nigeria’s pioneer local manufacturer of computer hardware, has remained largely a penny stock since listing.
The company was named in a September 2026 report by Techeconomy among nine NGX-listed firms carrying negative shareholders’ funds, with its negative equity put at N2.73 billion, reflecting years of accumulated losses. Its shares were trading around N1.62 to N1.70 through July and August 2026.
Japaul Gold and Ventures Plc, formerly Japaul Oil and Maritime Services Plc, listed on August 10, 2005, raising N1.3 billion through its IPO and a further N20 billion through a public offer two years later.
Its share price fell into kobo territory over the following years, and the company posted a loss of N1.18 billion for the 2020 financial year, according to earnings reports published at the time.
Japaul has since pivoted from oil servicing into gold and mineral mining, raising an additional N20 billion through a special share placement in 2024.
The stock has recovered considerably, gaining more than 600 per cent over three years, and traded at N3.32 as of an August 2026 reading, valuing the company at about N47.4 billion.
Daar Communications Plc, the owner of Africa Independent Television and Raypower FM, converted to a public company in 2007 and listed on the exchange at N5 per share.
Its share price fell as low as 50 kobo in subsequent years, and its full-year results for 2016 showed revenue down 47.35 per cent and an after-tax loss that widened to N2.139 billion from N1.51 billion the previous year.
The stock was trading at N1.68 as of July 24, 2026, still well below its offer price nearly two decades after listing.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, now Seplat Energy Plc, dual-listed on the NGX and the London Stock Exchange on April 14, 2014, at an offer price of N576 per share in an oversubscribed IPO that raised roughly $500 million.
The oil price collapse of 2014 to 2016 dragged the stock to an all-time low of N151.70 in January 2016, more than 70 per cent below its listing price.
It has since become one of the exchange’s standout performers, hitting an all-time high of N6,700 in February 2026 and trading in a range of roughly N11,000 to N15,000 through mid-2026, with a market capitalisation running into trillions of naira.
Market analysts note that the pattern across the six companies is uneven: while Airtel Africa, Seplat and, to a lesser extent, Honeywell and Japaul eventually rewarded patient shareholders who held on through years of losses, Omatek and Daar Communications remain far below their offer prices decades after listing.
Whether the Dangote refinery offer, backed by a 650,000-barrel-per-day facility valued at N65.22 trillion, follows the trajectory of the recoveries or the laggards will depend on the refinery’s operating performance after listing, analysts say, adding that retail investors drawn in by the scale of the offer should weigh that history alongside the excitement around Africa’s largest share sale.
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