Deals

BlackRock’s Ports Deal Marks New Reach, Hands Win to Trump

Asset manager leads deal to buy Panama ports from CK Hutchison
Transaction represents BlackRock’s largest infrastructure deal

Containers and cranes at the Port of Balboa in Panama City, Panama, on Feb. 25.Photographer: Walter Hurtado/Bloomberg

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By Silla Brush and Matthew Bristow

March 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM UTC

Updated on

March 5, 2025 at 2:31 AM UTC

BlackRock Inc. led one of the biggest acquisitions of the year in a deal that marked both the firm’s expanded reach in infrastructure and a win for US President Donald Trump, who had raised concerns over control of key ports near the Panama Canal.

The world’s biggest asset manager led a consortium that will buy a controlling stake in Panama ports that had become a political lightning rod and a larger unit that has operations across 23 countries. CK Hutchison, the conglomerate founded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, said it would receive cash proceeds of more than $19 billion from the sale.