Dangote gains US$600m as cement unit plans to buy back US$112.75m in shares

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has seen his net worth increase by more than $600 million in the past three days thanks to a surge in the share price of his flagship company, Dangote Cement Plc, amid its planned share buyback program.

As of press time, January 14, Dangote’s net worth is valued at over $20 billion, making him the richest man in Africa and the 95th wealthiest person in the world.

Since the start of the year, his wealth has increased by more than $929 million. The rise was driven by the recent $600-million bump in his net worth.

The multimillion-dollar surge in his fortune can be linked to a rise in the stock price of Dangote Cement on the Nigerian Exchange, as investors reacted to news of its planned share buyback program.

In a press statement issued from its Victoria Island Office in Lagos, the Nigeria-based cement maker announced the start of the second tranche of its share buyback program, a move that will see the company buy back one percent of its stake for N39.1 billion ($112.75 million) on the open market.

Under the arrangement, Dangote Cement will buy up to 170,003,074 fully paid-up ordinary shares, representing one percent of the company’s currently issued shares. The cement maker will also acquire 40,200,000 shares held as treasury shares.

In reaction to the development, the company’s share price has increased by 6.2 percent from N259 ($0.625) on Jan. 11 to N275 ($0.664) as of the time of the drafting of this report.

Meanwhile, its market capitalization surged from N4.41 trillion ($10.66 billion) to N4.69 trillion ($11.32 billion) thanks to the bullish sentiment on the local bourse.

Data retrieved from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index revealed that Dangote’s net worth since Jan. 11 has risen from $19.4 billion to $20 billion.

This equates to a total $600-million gain for the billionaire in three days.

source: Billonaires