Dubai fund buys $300m stake in Dangote Cement

Few days after Qatar National Bank (QNB) acquired significant stake in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) has followed suit, sealing a $300 million investment in Dangote Cement Plc.

The deal marks the second investment made by a state-owned investment company in the pan-African cement company.

In 2013, South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation bought a $293 million stake of Dangote Cement, the largest listed company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Going by calculations of its current market capitalisation, which is about $24.5 billion, the deal will see the Dubai-based investment company own 1.3 per cent stake of the Nigerian cement company.

Dangote cement is one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Africa. The company is recognised as the biggest cement producer in Africa with operations across 13 countries on the continent.

The company is looking to expand its production participation from 35 million tons a year to more than 60 million tons a year by 2018.

ICD, on the other hand, was established in 2006 as a sovereign wealth fund  by the government of Dubai. The fund owns stakes in Emirates Group, Dubai World Trade Center and the Emirates National oil company.