Dangote To Merge Salt, Sugar, Rice Businesses Into Single Company

Dangote To Merge Salt, Sugar, Rice Businesses Into Single Company

NASCON Allied Industries Plc, the salt-making subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, is considering a business combination with two other food companies within the conglomerate.

The directors’ board of NASCON will discuss this merger during an upcoming meeting later this month.

The proposed combination would bring together NASCON, Dangote Sugar (which owns the largest sugar refinery in sub-Saharan Africa), and Dangote Rice into a single entity. While NASCON and Dangote Sugar are listed on the Lagos stock exchange, Dangote Rice is not yet quoted. Dangote Industries Limited serves as the holding company for several firms primarily owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual.

Read Also BREAKING: As Nigerians Await Presidential Election Petition Court Judgement, Tribunal Dismisses Petition With Costs

This planned merger follows in the footsteps of BUA Group, the group’s main competitor, which consolidated its food businesses (including rice, sugar, flour, and edible oils) into a new company called BUA Foods about 31 months ago. BUA Foods subsequently listed on the Nigerian Exchange and is currently Nigeria’s largest consumer goods company by market value, with a worth of over N2.4 trillion as of Thursday’s market opening and total assets of N649.6 billion as of March 31.

BUA Group is controlled by Abdul Samad Rabiu, Nigeria’s second-richest person and Africa’s fourth-wealthiest individual. As for Dangote Sugar and NASCON, they began trading on Thursday with market capitalizations of N329.8 billion and N70.2 billion, respectively. Their total assets were estimated to be N558.9 billion and N59.2 billion as of the end of March.

Dangote Group’s largest investment is the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery in Lekki, Lagos, which was commissioned in May at a cost of $19 billion. BUA Group is also constructing a refinery in Akwa Ibom State with a capacity to process 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, set to be operational by 2025.