TPG signs deal to takeover management of Abraaj’s healthcare fund

US private equity firm TPG said on Thursday it has signed a definitive agreement to takeover the management of a healthcare fund, previously managed by collapsed private equity firm Abraaj.

The healthcare fund assets will form part of a new fund called Evercare Health Fund, it said in a statement.

Abraaj, once the Middle East and North Africa’s biggest buyout fund, had a row with investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Finance Corp over the use of money in a $1 billion healthcare fund.

The row led to months of financial turmoil at the Dubai-based firm which filed for provisional liquidation last year.

Last month Abraaj’s founder Arif Naqvi was arrested in Britain and is awaiting potential extradition to the United States where he faces charges of defrauding investors. He has maintained his innocence.

TPG said the healthcare fund will continue with its critical mission of providing affordable and high-quality healthcare across Africa and South Asia.

The investors include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Overseas Private Investment Corp, IFC, CDC Group, Proparco, Philips and Medtronic, it said.

Liquidators for Abraaj, which at its peak managed $13.6 billion in assets, are trying to reach deals for some of the private equity funds managed by the collapsed firm.

Colony Capital Inc has agreed to buy Abraaj’s private equity business in Latin America, while Actis is the front-runner for the $1 billion Abraaj Private Equity Fund IV, but it still needs to convince investors in the fund to vote for the deal.