BlackRock GIP and Terminal Investment → CK Hutchison ports portfolio
A $22.8bn agreement in principle to sell most of CK Hutchison's ports outside China to BlackRock's infrastructure arm and MSC's terminal business, which became a proxy for US–China rivalry over the Panama Canal and, as of September 2026, remained unfinished.
A sale of 43 ports in 23 countries that stalled on Chinese objections; the two Panama terminals were lost when Panama's Supreme Court annulled their concession in January 2026.
- Value
- $22.8B
- Announced
- March 2025
- Completed
- Pending
- Sector
- Transport
- Deal type
- asset purchase
- Acquirer
- BlackRock GIP and Terminal Investment (United States)
- Target
- CK Hutchison ports portfolio (Hong Kong)
Why it mattered
CK Hutchison, controlled by Li Ka-shing's family, describes itself as the world's leading port investor and operator. On 4 March 2025 it announced agreements in principle with BlackRock, its Global Infrastructure Partners unit and Terminal Investment Ltd, the port arm of Mediterranean Shipping Company. The buyers would take 80% of 43 ports with 199 berths in 23 countries and 90% of Panama Ports Company, which runs Balboa and Cristóbal at either end of the canal, at an enterprise value of $22.8bn; terminals in Hong Kong and mainland China were excluded, and CK Hutchison expected more than $19bn in cash. Its shares rose more than 22% the next day.
The timing was political. Donald Trump had accused China of "operating" the canal and Panama had begun auditing the concession; CK Hutchison insisted the sale was purely commercial. Beijing disagreed. Pro-Beijing newspapers attacked it, China's market regulator said it would review the deal and that no transaction could proceed before approval, and the Panama signing expected by 2 April 2025 slipped. By August CK Hutchison said nothing would close in 2025 and that it was talking to a "major strategic Chinese investor", identified by sources as COSCO.
What it left behind
Panama then removed its terminals from the equation. On 29 January 2026 its Supreme Court declared the concession unconstitutional; the state took over the ports in February, with APM Terminals and MSC — itself one of the buyers — handling interim operations. CK Hutchison and Panama Ports Company have since sought more than $1.5bn and $2bn respectively in arbitration. Talks on the remaining terminals resumed in March 2026, and in April China Merchants joined them as a potential way to help COSCO finance a stake. As of late August 2026 no sale had closed: reports still described a plan to sell to BlackRock, MSC and a strategic investor identified as COSCO, and CK Hutchison's ports division grew revenue 4% in the first half despite losing Panama.
Once a buyer is chosen partly for its nationality, every government with a claim on the assets gains a de facto veto: calling the sale purely commercial did not stop Washington, Beijing and Panama each reshaping it.