By Raffaele Huang and Costas Paris

A deal that would shift control of two ports in Panama to a U.S.-led investor group is likely to be delayed for at least a short period beyond the initial April 2 deadline, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The deal has drawn praise from President Trump and criticism from China's state-backed media because the seller is Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison. The company said in early March that it planned to sell dozens of global ports, including facilities at either end of the Panama Canal, to a group led by BlackRock of the U.S. in a $23 billion transaction.

China's antitrust regulator said Friday that it would review the deal "to protect fair competition and safeguard public interest."

The deal came after Trump criticized what he said was Chinese control of the canal. In his March 4 address to Congress, Trump applauded the planned transfer of the Panama ports, saying of the Panama Canal, "We're taking it back."

Chinese leader Xi Jinping was angered by the deal and Beijing has been reviewing what tools it might have to hinder it, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Hutchison and BlackRock initially said they planned to sign definitive documents sealing the deal by April 2.

People familiar with the negotiations said Friday that they didn't expect that deadline to be met.

Some of the people said the delay in signing the documents and Beijing's regulatory review didn't mean that the deal would be called off -- only that a little more time was needed. Others said Beijing believed it might be able to force a more substantial delay or rethinking of the deal.

People involved in the negotiations and outside analysts have said they expect the deal would ultimately go through. They pointed to the risks for Beijing if it appeared to block a commercial transaction that doesn't involve ports in mainland China or Hong Kong.

China's Xi told global CEOs on Friday that the country was open for business and eager to help foreign companies thrive.

Kurt Tong, a former State Department official who served as the American consul in Hong Kong, said the deal "is not crossing a red line for China."

"The benefit of holding on to the two ports was a matter of perception for the U.S., not a matter of reality. Port operations are run according to Panamanian law, not by Hutchison," Tong said.

He said Beijing wouldn't risk Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub where deals are put together and involve big Western banks as advisers. However, he said it would be a loss of face for Beijing if an American investor took over the ports.

People close to the deal said Chinese shipping companies were already talking to Mediterranean Shipping Co., which is expected to run at least some of the Hutchison ports when the deal is completed. MSC's owner, Diego Aponte, was a BlackRock partner in its bid to buy the ports. MSC is the world's biggest containership operator and runs dozens of terminals globally.

The parties involved have 145 days to exclusively negotiate the final terms. Beyond that period, Hutchison can sell the assets to other parties. They haven't said when the period started.

Chinese officials have telegraphed to Hutchison that they would call in BlackRock for a regulatory review if the parties went ahead with the transaction, people familiar with the matter said. Antitrust officials have started examining BlackRock's businesses, especially its investments in China, some of the people said.

Any significant effort by Beijing to torpedo the deal risks escalating tensions between China and the Trump administration. Some people familiar with China's thinking said officials in Beijing hoped that sending signals about potential regulatory challenges would prompt Hutchison and BlackRock to pull back voluntarily.

Write to Raffaele Huang at raffaele.huang@wsj.com and Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2025 11:28 ET (15:28 GMT)

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