CK Hutchison explores break-up of global ports sale

CK Hutchison is exploring a restructured sale of dozens of ports to a global consortium by breaking the transaction into smaller parcels with differing ownership structures, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

CK Hutchison, which is based in the Chinese-controlled territory of Hong Kong, has come under heavy criticism from Beijing since it announced last year plans to sell 43 ports across 23 countries, including two near the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by BlackRock and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-controlled shipping group MSC.

Under the proposed arrangement China's state-owned COSCO Shipping could take larger stakes in ports located in regions seen as more aligned with Beijing, such as Africa, the report said.