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TPG in Talks to Combine Abraaj's Health-Care Assets in Rise Fund

TPG’s Rise Fund aims to achieve market returns while also making a positive social and environmental impact.

TPG in Talks to Combine Abraaj's Health-Care Assets in Rise Fund
Stacks of $1 dollar notes bearing the name of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin move through a machine at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Private equity firm TPG is in exclusive talks to take over Abraaj Group’s $1 billion health-care fund.

The firm is discussing combining the health-care assets with its Rise Fund, which aims to achieve market returns while also making a positive social and environmental impact. Abraaj’s fund has a mandate to provide affordable, high-quality health care to lower-income patients in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and it’s in the process of separating from Dubai-based Abraaj Group.

“We have a long history of investing in forward-thinking health-care solutions around the world, including in emerging markets," Bill McGlashan, co-founder and chief executive officer of The Rise Fund, said in a statement Monday. He said the combination with Abraaj’s fund would build "on our shared commitment to accessible, affordable, quality health care and evidence-based, measurable impact.”

TPG, which is based in San Francisco and Fort Worth, Texas, plans to gather $3 billion for its second social impact fund after raising the largest pool ever dedicated to the area almost a year ago, Bloomberg reported this month. The firm is also experienced in the health-care space, with trades that included the $8 billion sale of Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. to Endo International Plc in 2015 and UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s $2.3 billion purchase last year of TPG-backed Surgical Care Affiliates Inc.

Abraaj was once one of the most influential emerging-market investors until its dramatic collapse this year and court-appointed liquidators are trying to settle debt owed. TPG said in the statement that the parties involved expect the transition to take place during the fourth quarter of this year, subject to approvals.

The Wall Street Journal reported the talks earlier Monday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Perlberg in Washington at hperlberg@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha

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