The BlackRock-TiL consortium, comprising financial giant BlackRock and Terminal Investment (TiL), will buy CK Hutchison Holdings' 90% interest in the Panama Ports Company and a total of 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries,

The deal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to take control of the Panama Canal and end what he sees as China’s influence over the waterway critical to global trade.

CK Hutchison stock gained more than 22% on Wednesday after the Hong Kong conglomerate sold a majority stake in a $22.8 billion ports unit, including assets along the Panama Canal, to a group led by U.