Dangote Oil Refining Company (DORC) plans to divest a 12.75 per cent stake in its refinery to new investors.
This follows the reduction in the stake of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited from 20 per cent to 7.2 per cent.
Fitch Rating, in a report on Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), confirmed that NNPC’s reduction of the acquisition of the refinery from 20 per cent to 7.2 per cent means the company will offer the remaining 12.75 per cent to new investors.
The report which focuses on liquidity concerns and debt restructuring of the company, noted that the group tends to service its significant syndicated loan maturing in August 2024 from the equity divestment.
“In 2021, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) acquired a 7.25% stake in DORC’s (Dangote Oil Refining Company) project entity for USD1.0 billion, with an option to purchase the remaining 12.75% stake by June 2024.
“Since the option has not been exercised, the group plans to divest a 12.75% stake in DORC in 2024. The group intends to service its significant syndicated loan maturing in August 2024 from the equity divestment. However, timely divestment and meeting the imminent maturity is highly uncertain in our view,” Fitch said.
