NEW YORK, April 14 — Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte’s family-run business is emerging as the lead investor of a group seeking to buy 43 ports from conglomerate CK Hutchison, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Aponte family’s Terminal Investment Ltd (TIL), which manages a diverse portfolio of container terminals according to its website, will be the sole owner of all the ports once the deal is completed, except for two in Panama that would be controlled by BlackRock Inc, Bloomberg reported.

BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners will own 51 per cent of the two ports near the Panama Canal, while TIL will own the rest.

CK Hutchison declined to comment.

The port facilities at the strategic waterway account for about 4 per cent of the total value of the deal. CK Hutchison’s founder tycoon, Li Ka-shing, is expected to make more than US$19 billion (RM84 billion) in cash, Bloomberg said, citing a person aware of the details.

CK Hutchison has faced an increasing barrage of criticism from China on its decision to sell most of its US$22.8 billion port business to BlackRock. The deal has become highly politicised as the conglomerate is thrust into the crosshairs of an escalating China-US trade war.

Shares of CK Hutchison extended gains to 3.1 per cent after the report, versus a 2.1 per cent rise in the main Hang Seng Index . — Reuters