CK Hutchison to sell Panama ports’ stake to group including BlackRock amid Trump pressure

Hong Kong's CK Hutchison is selling its controlling stake in a unit that operates Panama ports to a group including BlackRock, it said on Tuesday as the Trump administration piles up pressure to curb Chinese influence in the region.

The sale of licenses will result in the consortium gaining 90% stake in Panama Ports Company, which is the operator of Balboa and Cristobal ports in the South American country.

CK Hutchison has been operating the ports at the canal's Pacific and Atlantic entrances for more than two decades. Although it is not financially tied to the Chinese government, Hong Kong firms are subject to state oversight.

The canal, the world's second busiest interoceanic waterway, is key to global trade flows and critical for U.S. trade as two-thirds of goods passing through the channel are headed into or out of the North American country.

The sale of Panama ports licenses held by the unit of billionaire Li Ka-shing's conglomerate to a consortium that includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment will give it control of an 80% interest in Hutchison Ports for an equity value of $14.21 billion.

It will get control of 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries while delivering cash proceeds in excess of $19 billion for the Hong Kong-based consortium.

The sale does not involve any interest in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which operates ports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as South China, or any other ports in Mainland China, CK Hutchison said.

The consortium said has agreed that negotiations will be on an exclusive basis for a period of 145 days, the company said.