BlackRock and MSC are studying to leave out the two Panamanian ports from the acquisition plan valued at 22.8 billion dollars through which they intend to acquire the majority of CK Hutchison's global port assets. The decision responds to circumstances that largely escape the buyer consortium's control and originates from the crisis unleashed in Panama around the terminals of Balboa port and Cristóbal port. The Panamanian government annulled the concession held by Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hutchison Ports, for the operation of both facilities. Following the revocation, the authorities of the Central American country assumed control of the ports, which currently operate under temporary concessions granted to APM Terminals, in the case of Balboa, and to Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the investment arm in terminals of MSC, in Cristóbal.
The acquisition plans were announced in March 2025, and the operation was described as the largest transaction recorded in the global container terminal sector. The perimeter of the agreement covers 43 maritime container terminals located outside of China and Hong Kong, distributed across a geography that extends from Australia to the United Arab Emirates. According to data from the consultancy Drewry, these facilities had a combined capacity exceeding 73 million TEUs by the end of 2023, with total movement reaching almost 47 million TEUs.
At first, it was expected that the transaction would advance rapidly. However, the regulatory oversight processes both in Panama and China slowed down negotiations and caused the 145-day exclusivity period that the consortium had with CK Hutchison to expire in July 2025 without the agreement being completed. Beijing openly expressed its opposition to the operation, citing geopolitical and strategic concerns related to the control of key ports. As a consequence, the consortium announced the incorporation of actors from mainland China to the investor group, led by COSCO Shipping Corporation.
However, the negotiations stumbled upon new difficulties after COSCO, according to various sources, claimed a controlling stake in the agreement, a position that the consortium formed by BlackRock and TIL considered unacceptable.
At the beginning of 2026, several media outlets pointed out that the consortium was exploring a restructuring of the transaction. Under the new proposal, the ports located in countries with greater political affinity with Beijing, particularly in the African continent, could be sold to COSCO, while the bulk of the remaining assets would remain in the hands of the TIL-BlackRock consortium. According to information published by the Financial Times, China has generally shown itself favorable to the restructured proposal, issuing tentative approval signals, although the negotiations remained in a preliminary phase.
The exclusion of the Panamanian ports, if confirmed, would represent a significant adjustment in the perimeter of an operation that has already faced multiple regulatory and geopolitical obstacles since its announcement a year ago.