Namibia’s largest pension fund increases stake in Capricorn group

WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Capricorn Investment Group Limited said on Friday that Namibia's largest institutional investor had bought a 25 percent stake in the financial services firm for about N$2 billion Namibian dollars ($160 million) and also lent it money. The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), with assets valued at about $7.77 billion, increased its stake in Capricorn to 26 percent, making it the second largest shareholder in the financial services firm. Capricorn operates as an investment holding company with interests in banking, insurance and asset management in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. Bank Windhoek, Capricorn's flagship brand, is the largest locally owned bank and the second largest lender in Namibia. Capricorn's majority shareholder, Capricorn Investment Holdings' (CIH) stake fell to 40.5 percent following the transaction following the transaction. CIH and Capricorn Group chairman, Koos Brandt, said the GIPF had also offered a long-term debt of N$1.3 billion to the group as part of the transaction and said the fund would help reduce the group's capital and liquidity risk. ($1 = 12.4870 Namibian dollars) (Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Editing by James Macharia)