Latest news with #GianluigiAponte
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CK Hutchison confirms Aponte's MSC is main investor in ports deal
HONG KONG (Reuters) -CK Hutchison confirmed on Thursday that Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is the main investor in a group seeking to buy 43 ports from the Hong Kong conglomerate. Hutchison co-managing director Dominic Lai was speaking at the company's annual general meeting following weeks of scrutiny and criticism in China of its proposal to sell most of its $22.8 billion global ports business to a consortium led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock. When asked if the Swiss-headquartered MSC shipping empire, which is controlled by the Aponte family, was the major investor, Lai said: "Yes, it has been from the beginning." CK Hutchison has not previously disclosed the exact ownership of each investor in the consortium. MSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Lai's remarks. The sale of assets, which would include two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal, has become highly politicised at a time of intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions. In April, China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale and that parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust review. CK Hutchison, controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, said this month that the deal would strictly adhere to all required compliance standards. The proposed sale has also drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to reduce Chinese influence around the Panama Canal and termed the deal a "reclaiming" of the waterway. (Reporting By Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Joe Bavier) Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
CK Hutchison confirms Aponte's MSC is main investor in ports deal
HONG KONG, May 22 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison ( opens new tab confirmed on Thursday that Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is the main investor in a group seeking to buy 43 ports from the Hong Kong conglomerate. Hutchison co-managing director Dominic Lai was speaking at the company's annual general meeting following weeks of scrutiny and criticism in China of its proposal to sell most of its $22.8 billion global ports business to a consortium led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab. When asked if the Swiss-headquartered MSC shipping empire, which is controlled by the Aponte family, was the major investor, Lai said: "Yes, it has been from the beginning." CK Hutchison has not previously disclosed the exact ownership of each investor in the consortium. MSC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Lai's remarks. The sale of assets, which would include two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal, has become highly politicised at a time of intensifying U.S.-China trade tensions. In April, China's top market regulator said it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale and that parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust review. CK Hutchison, controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, said this month that the deal would strictly adhere to all required compliance standards. The proposed sale has also drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to reduce Chinese influence around the Panama Canal and termed the deal a "reclaiming" of the waterway.
Business Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
CK Hutchison confirms Italian tycoon's lead role in ports deal
[HONG KONG] CK Hutchison Holdings has told investors that Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run business is the 'main investor' of a group seeking to buy its global ports and that the sale will not proceed until after various authorities vet the deal. The comments from co-managing director Dominic Lai came in response to questions from investors during the Hong Kong-based conglomerate's annual general meeting, an official transcript of the gathering on Thursday (May 22) showed. Lai also noted that the deal is subject to multiple reviews by different authorities, and reiterated the company's position that the group will not proceed with the sale until it obtains all necessary approvals. Should the deal go through, CK Hutchison, founded by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing, will sell 43 ports – including two in Panama – to the group that involves US investment firm BlackRock for a sum encompassing more than US$19 billion in cash. Since being announced in March, the proposed sale has met with opposition from China, whose market watchdog has said it will review the transaction. US President Donald Trump touted the deal as a win for the US because it had return the Panama Canal to American influence. Bloomberg reported last month that the sale is structured to give the Aponte family's Geneva-based Terminal Investment ownership of all but the two Panama ports, whose control would go to BlackRock. CK Hutchsion has also had to contend with a series of attacks from pro-Beijing newspapers over what they've described as kowtowing to US pressure. Authorities in Beijing have also told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li and his family, Bloomberg reported in March. CK Hutchison has already missed a target to sign a definitive agreement on the Panama part of the deal by Apr 2. BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
22-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
CK Hutchison Confirms Italian Tycoon's Lead Role in Ports Deal
CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. has told investors that Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run business is the 'main investor' of a group seeking to buy its global ports and that the sale won't proceed until after various authorities vet the deal. The comments from co-managing director Dominic Lai came in response to questions from investors during the Hong Kong-based conglomerate's annual general meeting, an official transcript of the gathering on Thursday showed.
Wall Street Journal
16-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Shipping Tycoons Discuss Separating Panama Ports From Hutchinson Deal
The billionaires behind the MSC shipping empire are discussing carving out two Panama ports from their $22.8 billion deal to buy dozens of ports from CK Hutchison 1 0.12%increase; green up pointing triangle, according to people familiar with the matter. Gianluigi Aponte and his son Diego Aponte, the Italian tycoons who control Mediterranean Shipping Co., have held discussions about moving ahead with the bulk of the deal, involving terminals at 41 ports on five continents, while disputes over the two ports along the Panama Canal are resolved, the people said.
