U.S. investment group Colony Capital Inc agreed to buy Dubai-based Abraaj Group's private equity business in Latin America, the companies said on Wednesday.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction, which is being done through Abraaj Holdings and Abraaj Investment Management Limited's joint provisional liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte, is expected to close during the first quarter. 

Colony Capital will lead the operations along with the senior management of Abraaj's private equity business in Latin America.

Abraaj, worth $13.6 billion, was the largest buyout fund in the Middle East and North Africa until it collapsed last year after turmoil triggered by a row with investors, including the Gates Foundation, over the use of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund.

Colony Capital emerged last year as a prospective investor in Abraaj's fallen empire and as early as June offered to buy the fund management business that runs Abraaj's Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, North Africa and Turkey funds. But its offer ran into investor resistance.

Abraaj Holdings and Abraaj Investment Management filed for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands in June and their court-appointed joint provisional liquidators, Deloitte and PwC, are overseeing the restructuring of Abraaj's debt, as well as the spinning off its various funds to new fund managers.

(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru and Tom Arnold in Dubai; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) ((ramavenkat.raman@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 6749 7151; Reuters Messaging: ramavenkat.raman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))