Blackrock, MSC and CK Hutchison would all be open to acquiring a stake from Cosco in the package of infrastructure spread across 23 

Negotiations for the transfer of 43 terminals currently controlled by Hong Kong group CK Hutchison to the consortium of TIL (MSC) and Blackrock appear to be at a standstill. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Chinese government officials have warned the parties that if a deal isn't reached to grant the Chinese state-owned company COSCO a stake in the new company set to acquire the terminals in question (a scenario that has been discussed for months, with the possibility of a 20-30% stake for the Chinese company), Beijing will try to derail 

 Changes are necessary to the current structure of the deal 

Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post reports the $23 billion deal for MSC and BlackRock to acquire the Hutchison Ports international business, excluding terminals in China, could be on the rocks unless major changes are made. According to the SCMP substantial changes are necessary to the current structure of the deal with both Panamanian and Chinese competition authorities unhappy with its current composition.

It is noteworthy that the Switzerland-headquartered carrier launched a $22.8 billion joint bid in March, with investment company Blackrock, for 43 terminals with 199 berths globally, including terminals in the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the Panama Canal, for the Hong Kong listed company. According to CK Hutchison MSC is leading the bid. Panama’s neutrality may be a major concern for MSC’s competitors in the container shipping sector and in the container terminal industry.

Container terminal ownership

Container terminal ownership saw a shift from local ownership to global terminal operators (GTO) such as DP World, PSA International and CK Hutchison came in the 1990s and into 2000s, which was triggered by events such as double digit growth, the spread of information technology and the accession of China to the WTO in 2001, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants’ senior port and terminals analyst Eirik Hooper.

Acquiring a stake from Cosco 

The US newspaper reported that Blackrock, MSC and CK Hutchison would all be open to acquiring a stake from Cosco in the package of infrastructure spread across 23 countries (excluding CK's sites in China) valued at nearly $23 billion (although the details remain unknown, with the biggest question being whether or not the Panamanian terminals will be included in the scope, the presence of a Chinese company in which is notoriously unpopular with the US government), but only after the deadline (July 27) set for exclusive talks between Blackrock, MSC and Hutchison

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