Report: Aponte Family May Buy Most of CK Hutchison's Terminals for $23B
The Aponte family-owned ports operator Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) is in the running to take over the vast majority of CK Hutchison's global container terminal portfolio after a deal led by BlackRock hit snags in Beijing. According to the South China Morning Post and Bloomberg, the restructured proposal would see BlackRock keep a 51 percent stake in Hutchison's two terminals in Panama - the sites of greatest interest to the U.S. government - while TIL would take over all 41 other sites around the world.
If completed, the transaction would cost TIL about $23 billion, including $19 billion in cash, a source close to the agreement told SCMP on Monday.
The accuracy of the reports could not be verified, and may reflect a negotiation in flux. In an interview with Italy's ShipNews conducted Friday or Saturday, while MSC World America was at Ocean Cay, Aponte family top executive Diego Aponte laid out a much different deal: a three-way global split that would see ownership shared 70% for MSC, 20% for Blackrock, and 10% for CK Hutchison. It was unclear whether this version was still current as of Monday, as it contradicts other reporting.
Whichever structure prevails, it would be among the biggest business deals in shipping in decades, so long as it can pass muster with authorities in China.
State-linked media outlets in Hong Kong have publicly slammed CK Hutchison for its initial attempt to sell the full portfolio to BlackRock, asserting that a mega-deal with an American company would be unpatriotic and would undermine Chinese security interests. According to Bloomberg, Beijing has retaliated by threatening to withhold government business and domestic regulatory approvals from CH Hutchison's family owners, who also have extensive business interests in mainland China.
BlackRock's bid has heavy diplomatic support from the White House, and President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to "take back" the entire Panama Canal in order to counter alleged Chinese influence on the waterway. Following these maximalist threats, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently suggested that the U.S. has secured a more modest concession from Panama: local cooperation on reducing China's footprint.
Despite apparent progress on the diplomatic front, Blackrock's attempt to buy the Panamanian terminals has run into a local hurdle. Panama's comptroller general alleges that CK Hutchison's most recent lease renewal was never fully approved, and that the Panamanian government has been underpaid by hundreds of million dollars in fees. (CK Hutchison's Panama subsidiary denies any wrongdoing.) If substantiated, the investigation has the potential to slow down BlackRock's portion of the deal.
By splitting off the other 41 terminals in the Hutchison portfolio and selling them to TIL, the revised deal would allow Hutchison to complete the majority of its ports divestment without waiting for a Panamanian review - so long as Chinese authorities approve of TIL as a buyer. That might not happen, according to local experts.
"Beijing doesn’t have to read the news before knowing who Hutchison is selling the assets to," Lau Siu-kai of the pro-government Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies told SCMP. "Whether it is Italy or any other Western country taking control of the ports, Beijing still opposes the deal because these countries are vulnerable to pressure from the US."
Speaking with ShipNews, Diego Aponte appeared confident that the transaction would eventually go through. "I am calm. There are discussions underway, but I believe that in a short time everything will be clarified with the various parties involved. Including the Chinese. To mutual satisfaction," he said.