Dangote Cement halts its planned London listing, citing market conditions and strategic priorities
The shares stay on the Nigerian Exchange; the company says its operations and plans are unaffected.
Key findings
- Dangote Cement's board decided on 10 November not to proceed with the proposed London listing "at this time", Nairametrics reported from the company's NGX notice.
- The offering would have sold about 10% of the company's existing shares and was estimated to raise about $1 billion, according to Nairametrics; the money would have gone to the selling shareholder rather than the company.
- The company reported a nine-month profit after tax of ₦974.8 billion, up 31.1% from ₦743.3 billion a year earlier, according to Business Insider Africa.
- The shares remain listed only on the Nigerian Exchange, and no new timetable was given.
Dangote Cement Plc has stopped work on its planned secondary listing in London. In a notice to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) after a board meeting on 10 November, the company and its selling shareholder, Dangote Industries Limited, said they would not proceed with the listing and offering on the London Stock Exchange, citing current market conditions and the company's strategic priorities, Nairametrics reported.
The notice said the decision applies "at this time", and did not set a new timetable. The company's shares stay listed on the NGX, and it said the decision does not affect its operations or business plans, according to Nairametrics and The Whistler.
The plan first surfaced in May 2026, when the company confirmed it was looking at a London listing. Nairametrics had reported that about 10% of the company's shares would be offered to outside investors, raising an estimated $1 billion. The Whistler reported that the deal was structured as a sale of existing shares, giving current holders liquidity rather than raising new money for the company, and that international banks had been engaged to advise on it.
The business behind the decision
The decision follows strong results. Dangote Cement reported a profit after tax of ₦974.8 billion for the nine months to 30 September, up 31.1% from ₦743.3 billion a year earlier, according to Business Insider Africa's reading of the unaudited accounts filed with the NGX. The group has manufacturing operations in 11 African countries, The Whistler noted.
Business Insider Africa set the decision against the London market's difficulty in attracting large new listings. It also contrasted it with the Dangote refinery's share offer on the Nigerian market in September, which kept the group's fundraising at home.
Why it matters
A London listing by one of Nigeria's largest companies would have been a test of international investors' appetite for Nigerian equities. Halting it keeps Dangote Cement's shareholder base, and its trading, in Lagos, and leaves the NGX as the only market for its shares.
What to watch
- Whether the company names conditions under which it would revisit an international listing.
- Whether other large Nigerian companies weighing foreign listings follow the same course.
- Dangote Cement's full-year 2026 results and dividend.
Methodology
This piece draws on Nairametrics' report of Dangote Cement's 10 November notice to the NGX, The Whistler's and Leadership's reports of the same notice, and Business Insider Africa for the nine-month results. The profit growth is computed from the two profit figures Business Insider Africa reported. Share prices and market values are left out because Dataminal does not publish NGX market data.
Sources
- 1Dangote Cement suspends planned London Stock Exchange listing (opens in a new tab)
- 2Africa's richest man pulls his $18 billion cement business from planned London listing as Britain's stock exchange struggles to attract major foreign companies (opens in a new tab)
- 3Dangote Cement Shelves Proposed $1bn London Stock Exchange Listing (opens in a new tab)
- 4Dangote Cement Shelves London Stock Exchange Listing Plan (opens in a new tab)