Amid growing anticipation by investors in the capital market of the initial public offering (IPO) of shares by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday banned further marketing and promotion of the company’s equities.
In a public notice issued on Tuesday in Abuja, the Commission said although it was aware of advertisements, flyers, digital banners and targeted electronic mails circulating on social media platforms and investment channels concerning a supposed securities offering by the refinery, no application for such an offer has neither been filed, nor approved by it.
The Commission expressed concern over the involvement of some Registered Capital Market Operators (CMOs) in what it described as an “unwholesome and manipulative exercise” of actively soliciting advance subscriptions for an offering that has not yet been presented to the Commission.
“No application for the registration of an IPO or public offer of shares of the Refinery has been filed with or approved by the Commission,” the statement said.
The ongoing pre-marketing activities, the Commission added, were “capable of misleading investors, distorting market expectations, creating information asymmetry and generally undermining the integrity of the capital market.”
The Commission warned that the marketing campaign and invitations to prospective investors to “create accounts”, “pre-fund,” or “secure guaranteed allocations” amounted to market manipulation, which constitute “serious violation of the Investments and Securities Act.”
Consequently, the Commission directed all Registered Capital Market Operators, particularly stockbrokers and digital platform promoters, to immediately stop all promotional activities.
The SEC ordered the operators to “cease with immediate effect from publishing, reposting, or distributing any promotional material, flyer, or commentary relating to the acquisition or allocation of shares in the Refinery.”
The Commission directed operators to “remove or take down all such unauthorized marketing materials from websites, social media handles (including X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook etc.), as well as messaging groups within 24) hours of this notice.”
The regulator further instructed operators to desist from accepting deposits, commitments, account openings or expressions of interest from investors for the purported public offering and to “reverse and refund all funds already collected in connection with this purported offering to clients within 24
hours of this notice.”
The Commission warned that defaulters would face sanctions as non-compliance would attract penalties under the Investments and Securities Act, 2025 and the SEC Rules and Regulations.
Advising investors to exercise caution, the SEC said members of the public should “rely only on formal, official pronouncements issued directly by the Commission through its official channels”, adding that “all such high-pressure marketing tactics, or transfer of funds to any operator for ‘pre-IPO’ placement should be ignored as they did not receive the Commission’s approval.”
The Commission assured that if it eventually receives and clears an application for a public offering by the refinery, an approved prospectus would be made available to investors in line with the provisions of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025.
