Dangote Cement shelves London listing, blames market conditions for blow to LSE

Nigeria’s Dangote Cement postponed its plans for a secondary listing in London on Tuesday, citing deteriorating market conditions, in a setback for the UK bourse. The decision came after market volatility following the US midterm elections, but the company may revisit the plan to list in London when conditions are more stable, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Wall Street tumbled last week after the Democrats’ midterm victory deepened investor concerns about whether the AI boom can last, with London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index also ending the week lower. Dangote Cement, which listed on the Nigerian stock market in 2010, said in May it ​was in early talks over a potential London listing, a move that would have widened its access to overseas investors and capital.

It has floated the idea of a London listing several times over 15 years, but global downturns and the COVID-19 pandemic have ​derailed its attempts. It is part of the sprawling business empire of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, who launched ​Africa’s biggest share sale yet in September with the initial public offering of his oil refinery. Dangote Cement’s board of directors, which met ‌on ⁠Tuesday, made the decision not to proceed with the listing plans in light of current market conditions and the firm’s strategic priorities, it said in a statement.

“These are pretty awful conditions for anyone to attempt an IPO,” said Samuel Kerr, an analyst at M&A analytics platform Mergermarket, pointing to the recent rise in equity ​volatility. “Dangote could probably do a ​deal now, but if ⁠it has the option of waiting for a better market, that would probably result in a better outcome and perhaps a higher valuation.” NO EFFECT ON BUSINESS ​PLANS A growing number of companies have either abandoned the London bourse or been bought ​out by larger ⁠rivals or private equity firms, while the IPO market has remained subdued.

African mobile money service Airtel Money, which made its London debut last month, has largely traded around its IPO price of £1.96 ($2.64) a share since its listing. The cement company, which has a market valuation of 24.79 trillion naira ($18.4 billion), said its shares remain listed on the Nigerian bourse and that the decision does not affect its operations or business plans.