London:Nigerian billionaire and industrialist Aliko Dangote has announced that his company has acquired a 25% stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), which plays a crucial role in transporting petroleum products throughout Kenya.
According to Ghana Web, Dangote disclosed the acquisition on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London. This announcement followed an earlier statement by Kenyan President William Ruto, who mentioned that private investors had purchased a stake in the country's pipeline network but did not identify the specific investors.
The acquisition aligns with Dangote's ongoing expansion into Africa's energy sector, which includes plans to establish a major oil refinery in Kenya. Just last month, Dangote laid the foundation stone for a $16 billion refinery project at the port of Lamu, Kenya. This facility is expected to have a refining capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.
Dangote's investment strategy aims to transition Africa from exporting raw materials to producing and exporting finished products. He already operates a refinery with similar capacity near Lagos, Nigeria, which is among the largest in the world and a significant component of his business empire.
The acquisition of the stake in KPC follows the Kenyan government's earlier sale of a 65% stake in the company through an initial public offering (IPO) earlier in 2026. This share sale was Kenya’s first major privatization-related offering in two decades and was part of efforts to raise government revenue amid limited fiscal space. The Kenya Pipeline Company remains a strategic entity in the country's energy infrastructure due to its role in transporting petroleum products.