* Deal could create one of Nigeria's biggest firms
* One Dangote share to exchange for 2 Benue shares
* Shareholder meeting Sept. 28
By Chijioke Ohuocha
LAGOS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria's biggest cement maker Dangote Cement said on Tuesday it will seek shareholder approval this month for a merger with Benue Cement, a deal which could create one of the country's largest listed firms.
Dangote Cement, owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, plans to exchange one of its shares for every two shares in Benue, which had a market capitalisation of $1.67 billion as of Tuesday.
The new entity would then be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The deal would be the first public new share offering in sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy since a stock market crash in 2008 and could produce one of the country's largest companies by market capitalisation.
Nigeria's stock index, the second biggest in sub-Saharan Africa, includes more than 200 companies with a total market capitalisation of 5.94 trillion naira ($40 billion), according to its web site.
Dangote Cement and Benue Cement took out full-page notices in Nigeria's BusinessDay newspaper announcing the shareholders' meeting, ordered by a Lagos court, for Sept. 28.
Dangote Cement holds a 75 percent stake in Benue, according to its annual report.
Dangote Cement said last November it planned to put all of its operations into one business and float the company. It has been considering a listing in London.
Dangote Cement is part of Dangote Group, one of the biggest indigenous conglomerates in Nigeria, whose interests range from flour and sugar to real estate and oilfields. (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ ) (Editing by Nick Tattersall and Erica Billingham) ($1=132.70 Naira)