UAE private equity firm Abraaj Capital has acquired the North African private equity platform of Amundi, the asset manager owned jointly by France’s Societe General and Credit Agricole.

Abraaj also takes over the $161m Kantara Fund, which has five investments in Morocco and Tunisia. The firm will assume management of the Amundi investment team and is in the process of establishing an office in Algeria.

“We are very pleased to announce the finalisation of this transaction, which will provide an excellent platform for our growth plans in North Africa and, beyond that, the continent of Africa,” says Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, chief executive officer of Abraaj Capital.

Since inception in 2002, Abraaj has raised more than $7bn and distributed about $3bn to investors. Assets under management at the end of 2010 were $6.2bn