By Luciana Magalhaes

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Funds managed by Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual received preliminary approval on Friday from the country′s antitrust regulator to buy the hotel operations of AccorInvest in Brazil for 1.7 billion reais ($300 million), regulatory documents showed on Monday.

Funds from BTG are acquiring all 18 hotels AccorInvest owns in Brazil, totaling 2,600 rooms, three people familiar with the deal said.

The hotels will be distributed into three funds managed by BTG, the same people said, adding that the 1.7 billion reais also comprises investments in the properties. The hotels will continue to be operated by Accor, they added.

The new portfolio includes the Fairmont Copacabana and the former Caesar Park, renamed under the Sofitel brand, both in Rio de Janeiro, the sources said.

Once the preliminary approval is given, commissioners from the regulator, known as Cade, and interested parties have up to 15 days to challenge the deal.

With this deal, funds managed by BTG will own 54 hotels with approximately 4,300 rooms in Brazil, mainly in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the sources said.

AccorInvest and BTG declined to comment on the deal.

BTG, which has been in talks with Accor since the beginning of the year, intends to finalize the acquisition by the end of 2024, one of the people told Reuters.

The funds involved in the transaction will now concentrate on the closing of the deal, but see future opportunities in the hotel segment in Brazil, according to the same people.

BTG funds have $5.5 billion in assets under management in the real estate sector, most of it in Brazil, the people said.

(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo; Editing by Mark Porter)