Blackstone Group, the world’s largest private equity firm, has pulled back on a plan to invest billions of dollars across Africa, the latest US investor to temper its ambitions on the continent.

The New York-based firm agreed about a year ago to sell Black Rhino Group, a developer of energy infrastructure projects that was meant to be Blackstone’s main vehicle for investing in Africa, back to its management team for an undisclosed amount, a Blackstone spokeswoman said.