A BlackRock Inc.-led consortium has reached an agreement to acquire control of key ports near the Panama Canal from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curtail Chinese influence in the region.
The agreement marks a significant victory for President Donald Trump, who has long contended that China had gained too much control over the strategic waterway and that the U.S. was overpaying for ship passage. Trump previously demanded that Panama reduce transit fees for U.S. naval and merchant vessels—or face pressure to return the canal to U.S. control, Bloomberg News first reported.
The agreement includes a deal in principle for BlackRock and its Global Infrastructure Partners unit, alongside Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s ports division, to acquire an 80% stake in Hutchison Ports Group, which operates 43 ports across 23 countries, the company announced Tuesday. The consortium will also take control of 90% of Panama Ports Co., which manages the key entry points at Balboa and Cristobal. CK Hutchison stated it would receive approximately $19 billion in cash proceeds from the broader ports transaction, noted Bloomberg.
The deal also eliminates a growing challenge for billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison. While the company had reaffirmed its commitment to operations in Panama as recently as January, it faced intensifying scrutiny amid Trump’s pressure campaign. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Panama’s government was considering canceling Hutchison’s contract and had initiated an audit of the company’s operations.
The transaction marks the largest infrastructure deal in BlackRock’s history, following its acquisition of infrastructure specialist GIP last year as part of a broader expansion into private markets. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, speaking at an RBC Capital Markets conference, described the agreement as a major opportunity for the asset manager and emphasized BlackRock’s longstanding relationship with CK Hutchison, said Bloomberg.
“Hutchison could see the writing on the wall, that strategically it was best for them as well for Panama to pursue its interests elsewhere,” Evan Ellis, Latin America Research Professor with the US Army War College, told the outlet. The deal could also ease pressure on Panama President Jose Raúl Mulino, who has been working to push back against President Donald Trump’s calls for greater U.S. influence over the Panama Canal, which was officially transferred to Panama’s government in 1999.
“It’s positive to the extent it helps Mulino to diminish the Chinese footprint in Panama and placate Trump,” Risa Grais-Targow, director for Latin America at Eurasia Group, told Bloomberg.
