Nigeria's largest cocoa processor is seeking 6 billion naira ($50.92 million) through a private placement to expand capacity, offer documents showed on Tuesday.

Multi-Trex Ltd is offering 2 billion shares at 3 naira each in the operation which started on Friday and will end on July 7.

"The private placement is being undertaken as a key step towards fulfilling the company's strategic goals ... to overcome the challenge of cocoa processing in origin countries and take advantage of emerging opportunities," Multi-Trex chairman Bayo Akinnola said.

The proceeds will be used to rapidly expand the capacity of the plant located near the commercial city of Lagos to 60,000 tonnes per year from around 10,000 tonnes.

Akinnola said 48 percent of the proceeds would be used to install new production lines, 43 percent would serve as working capital, 5 percent would be used to set up large-scale cocoa plantations, while 3.4 percent would go to staff training.

The company plans to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the last quarter of 2008, the offer documents said.

Multi-Trex started production in 2005 and is operating at about 70 percent of its capacity, representing 30 percent of local grinding.

The plant, which processes cocoa into butter, cake, powder and liquor, plans to produce its own brands of cocoa beverages.

Akinnola said the company would also convert its solids to consumer products for markets mainly in Asia, the United States, South Africa and West Africa.

Multi-Trex had first planned to increase capacity to 18,000 tonnes per year in 2006, but it failed to raise about 500 million naira it needed then to fund the programme.

Nigeria's installed grinding capacity stands at about 100,000 tonnes a year. Around 40 percent of this is working, processing roughly 25 percent of national cocoa output.

The government has banned imported cocoa products to boost local processing.

Multi-Trex's private placement is the second by a cocoa grinder in the world's number four cocoa grower in the last seven months.

FTN Cocoa Processors Ltd did a similar operation in November to raise 1.86 billion naira to reduce debts and expand its 12,000 tonnes a year plant in the southwestern city of Ibadan.