Colony Capital, a global investment management firm, has agreed to acquire the Abraaj Group’s Sub-Saharan Africa fund management business and the Group’s Limited Partnership interests in the underlying Funds.
 
In addition, Colony will acquire Latin America, North Africa and Turkey Funds, along with staff in the eight offices being transferred under the terms of the deal.

Colony has also agreed to oversee, on an interim basis, other Group Funds that are not being acquired so that the Group and all its stakeholders have a comprehensive global solution in place.

Tom Barrack, Executive Chairman, Colony Capital, said, “We are delighted to have crafted this comprehensive global solution for Abraaj and its stakeholders and sincerely hope that this can enable the process of rebuilding on all sides and also bring an end to the speculation that has swirled around Abraaj over the last months.”
 
The agreement has received in principle regulatory approval and is expected to close upon approval from the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands as well as other customary consents. 

The transaction is expected to complete by July 1.

Colony was founded by Thomas J. Barrack, Jr. in 1991.

The firm has significant holdings in the healthcare, industrial and hospitality sectors, in addition to other private equity and debt investments, with an embedded institutional and retail investment management business. 

Selcuk Yorgancioglu and Omar Lodhi, Co-Chief Executives of Abraaj Investment Management, said: “We are pleased to join the Colony platform and team which allows us to continue building our businesses in the fast-growing markets that we have been committed to for over two decades.”
  
Stuart Sybersma, Partner at Deloitte and Joint Provisional Liquidator of Abraaj Investment Management, said” “We are pleased to have agreed a sale of certain of AIML’s business units and assets in such a short timeframe, allowing, in line with our restructuring mandate, for these business units to continue to trade and ensuring continuity of service to investors and employment for the members of staff employed in these regions. The next step is to seek sanction of the Cayman Islands Court for the transaction, which will be undertaken on an expedited basis.”