Dangote Flour Mills has extended the initial public offering (IPO) by eleven days. The offer initially billed to close on Thursday, September 27, started on Friday, September 6.

The extension of the offer, according to the company sources may not be unconnected with the soaring demand from the investors.

Barely two weeks into the offer, investors demand had overwhelmed initial projections, forcing the company to reduce its preferential allotment from 60 per cent to 20 per cent. This has increased the offer to the public to one billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo at N15 per share. The development sources linked the development to the need to accommodate the huge pubic demand.

The flour milling business operated as a division of Dangote Industries Limited until January last year when it changed to Dangote Flour Mills Plc.

The company has in its fold Dangote Pasta Limited and Dangote Agro Sacks Limited. The former producer pasta while the latter specializes in polypropylene bags.

Dangote Flour Mills has an installed capacity to process 4,000 metric tones per day of flour and this is currently targeting 8,000 tonnes per day in 2008. Dangote pasta produces about 10.8 million cartons of pasta a year and this hope to increase shortly to 20 million cartons with the installation of two additional production lines already at the end of October. Dangote Agro sacks currently produces about 20 million polypropylene bags per month and will be at 30 million by 2008.

The company is planning to invest in additional plants and a mill as part of efforts to actualize its growth plans.