Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Months after President Donald Trump had been hammering Panama over  its most valuable asset, the Panama Canal, an investment group led by BlackRock, a giant American asset manager, has agreed to buy two ports in the place owned by a Hong Kong company.

BlackRock will buy the ports, which sit at either end of the canal, and over 40 others from the Hong Kong conglomerate, CK Hutchison, for about $23 billion. Though Trump has other complaints about the canal, he said it charges too much.

President José Raúl Mulino of Panama appeared to downplay the geopolitical implications of the proposed acquisition, describing the deal in a social media post as “a global transaction, between private companies, motivated by mutual interests.”

Adebayo Ogunlesi, Founding Partner, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of BlackRock, will lead the move to acquire the key port operations near the Panama Canal in the deal.

As part of the agreement, GIP will manage the newly acquired assets in partnership with Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) and other strategic partners.

Under Ogunlesi’s leadership, GIP has grown into the world’s largest independent infrastructure manager, overseeing more than $100 billion in assets. The firm’s infrastructure equity funds alone account for $60 billion of its portfolio, reinforcing its position as a global leader in infrastructure investment

For BlackRock, it’s the latest sign of its desire to expand beyond what it has historically been known for — managing trillions of dollars for everyday investors in stock and bond funds. BlackRock is buying the ports through GIP, an investment firm it bought last year for almost $13 billion that owns and operates many ports, airports and data centres.

The conversations between the BlackRock-led consortium and executives at CK Hutchison, which is owned by the Li family, one of Asia’s wealthiest, began a few weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

The Li family believed it was under political pressure to exit the ports business, particularly its holdings in the Panama Canal, the person said, according to the New York Times.

The Panama Canal provides a crucial shortcut, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Vessels do not need to stop at Panama’s ports to go through the canal. Trump has frequently said he wants the United States to retake control of the waterway, which it ceded to Panama in 2000.

In a joint statement by BlackRock Consortium and CK Hutchison, seen by THISDAY, both companies said they were pleased to announce that they had reached in principle agreements whereby the BlackRock-TiL Consortium will acquire  90 per cent interests in Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama.

“The Transaction will proceed separately on confirmation by the Government of Panama of the proposed terms of the purchase and sale. Acquisition of the HPH Ports Sale Perimeter will proceed on an expedited basis subject to the BlackRock-TiL Consortium conducting normal and usual confirmatory due diligence, settlement of definitive documentation, receipt of any necessary regulatory approvals, amongst others.

“The aggregate Enterprise Value for 100 per cent of HPH Ports Sale Perimeter including the Panama Ports has been agreed at $22.8 billion.  The allocation of transaction proceeds between the PPC Transaction and the HPH Transaction has also been agreed in principle. 

“Fundamental and Essential Terms of the PPC Transaction and the HPH Transaction have also been agreed in principle, subject to definitive documentation. The PPC Transaction definitive documentation is expected to be signed on or before 2nd April 2025.

“ Pending signature of the definitive documents CK Hutchison and HPH have entered into exclusive negotiation and non-disclosure arrangements with the BlackRock-TiL Consortium which will be given full access to information and documentation for purposes of conducting confirmatory due diligence,” the statement said.

Speaking on behalf of BlackRock, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said: “This agreement is a powerful illustration of BlackRock and GIP’s combined platform and our ability to deliver differentiated investments for clients.

“These world-class ports facilitate global growth. Through our deep connectivity to organisations like Hutchison and MSC/TIL and governments around the world, we are increasingly the first call for partners seeking patient, long-term capital. We are thrilled our clients can participate in this investment.”

Speaking on behalf of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, GIP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ogunlesi said: “We are delighted to partner with Terminal Investment Limited and MSC, with whom we have a longstanding and productive relationship, to make an offer for certain interests in ports owned and operated by Hutchison Ports Holdings.

“Given GIP’s substantial expertise in owning and operating ports, together with our partners, we can focus on our joint ambition for these assets to continue to be world-class ports operators which are competitive, efficient, commercial and service-focused.”

Speaking on behalf of Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), Chairman of TiL and President of the MSC Group Diego Aponte said: “Our relationship with Hutchison Ports goes back a long way and is a relationship of mutual respect and friendship. 

“Furthermore, we are very pleased to partner with BlackRock and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), with whom we share a longstanding relationship. We have a very high regard toward the Hutchison Ports management team, and once this transaction closes, we look forward to welcoming them into our larger family.  We are very focused on this industry, and we know that the investment in Hutchison Ports will be a very viable investment commercially.”

Speaking on behalf of CK Hutchison, Co-Managing Director Mr. Frank Sixt said:

“This Transaction is the result of a rapid, discrete but competitive process in which numerous bids and expressions of interest were received. 

“As a result, the Transaction valuation agreed in principle is compelling, and the Transaction is clearly in the best interest of our shareholders.  After adjusting for minority interests and repayment of certain shareholder loans due from HPH to CK Hutchison, the Transaction would be expected to deliver cash proceeds in excess of US$19 billion to our Group. 

“I would like to stress that the transaction is purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports.

“It must be noted that, however, the transaction does remain subject to confirmatory due diligence, settlement of definitive documentations, and normal and usual completion procedures, adjustments and conditions as well as compliance by HPH with the rights of minority shareholders under existing shareholders agreements relating to the Sold HPH Interests.”

CK Hutchison has operated the Balboa and Cristóbal ports since 1997, when Panama granted the company 25 year concessions for the facilities. The concessions were renewed for another 25 years in 2021. The BlackRock investment group will be buying the companies that own the port concessions.

In the past several days, executives at BlackRock, including Laurence D. Fink, its chief executive, and a board member, Adebayo Ogunlesi, briefed Trump; the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent; the secretary of state, Marco Rubio; and others on the deal, according to two people involved in the deal. The administration was supportive, they added.

The Li family specifically sought an American buyer, one of the people briefed on the discussions said. There were three other bids for the deal, another person familiar with the deal said.

Frank Sixt, a co-managing director at CK Hutchison, said in a statement that the deal was “purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama ports.”

This is BlackRock’s largest infrastructure deal ever and it is doing the deal with a partner known as Terminal Investment Limited, which operates ports served by the world’s largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping.

The deal adds to Terminal Investment’s portfolio of ports in Europe and Latin America, and in addition to operating ports in the Panama Canal, the buyers were particularly interested in CK Hutchison’s ports in Asia.

Trump had also taken aim at the fees that the Panama Canal charges shipping companies to use the waterway. The fees have gone up in recent years, but the Panamanian agency that runs the canal has said droughts, investments in upgrades and sheer demand were responsible for the increases.

The American president has made several arguments for retaking control of the canal and the surrounding area. He argued that Chinese influence was a national security threat.

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