Dangote Cement scraps London listing, blames market conditions in blow to LSE

By Yamini Kalia and Muvija M

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Dangote Cement DANGCEM.LG scrapped plans for a secondary London Stock Exchange listing on Tuesday, citing market conditions, in a setback for the UK bourse, which has struggled to attract major new issuers.

The decision was due to the market volatility following the US midterm elections, but the company may revisit the plan to list in London when there's more stability, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Wall Street tumbled last week after the Democrats' midterm victory deepened concerns over whether the AI boom can last, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 also ending the week lower.

Dangote Cement in May had disclosed it was in early talks over a potential London listing, a move that would have widened its access to overseas investors and capital.

Its board of directors, which met on Tuesday, made the decision to scrap the listing in light of current market conditions and the firm's strategic priorities, the company said.

London has seen a growing number of companies either abandoning the bourse or getting bought out by larger rivals or private equity firms, while the IPO market has remained subdued.

African mobile money service Airtel Money, which made its London debut last month, has largely traded around its IPO price of £1.96 since its listing.

Dangote Cement is part of the sprawling business empire of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, who launched Africa's biggest-ever share sale in September with the IPO of his oil refinery on Nigeria's main stock exchange.

The company, whose market valuation currently stands at 24.79 trillion naira ($18.42 billion), said its shares remain listed on the NGX and that the decision does not affect its operations or business plans.

($1 = 1,345.6500 naira)