Nigerian Billionaire Buys Famous Panama Canal Ports for $23Bn Years After Buying a UK Airport

Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its shares in a subsidiary operating near the Panama Canal to a consortium, including Global Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of BlackRock Inc.

According to reports, US President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference with the shipping line operations.

Adebayo Ogunlesi’s GIP acquires the port

Nigerian billionaire, Adebayo Ogunlesi’s firm, Global Infrastructure Partners, will operate the deal via collaboration with TIL.

READ ALSO: 2024 Billionaires’ Boom: Musk, Zuckerberg Lead $10 Trillion Wealth Surge

In a filing, CK Hutchison Holdings disclosed that it would sell all shares in the Hutchison Port Holdings and Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the Consortium in a deal estimated at almost $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt.

The deal will give the BlackRock consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including Balboa and Cristobal in Panama and others in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

The US built and gave up the port to Panama

About 70% of the sea traffic crossing the Panama Canal leaves or goes to the US ports. The New Telegraph reports that the US built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for means to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts.

The US government gave up control of the waterway to Panama on December 31, 1999, under an agreement signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.

Ogunlesi joins the list of African billionaires

Adebayo Ogulesi has solidified his position as one of the world’s wealthiest persons, with a net worth of $1.7 billion on the Forbes billionaire list.

The achievement secures Ogulesi’s spot as Nigeria’s fifth billionaire and boosts Africa’s growing list of high-net-worth persons.

Forbes’ newest valuation confirms a shift eight months after Bloomberg reported his rise among African billionaires.

READ ALSO: BBC News Africa ‘Flamboyant’ Headline Used to Describe Akinwumi Adesina Sparks Reactions on Twitter

According to reports, Bloomberg estimated Ogunlesi’s net worth at $2.3 billion following a $12 billion deal with BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset management company.

The 72-year-old Nigerian is the Chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a New York-based infrastructure investment company. His current ranking places him among the world’s top 2,000 wealthiest persons, at 1,945 globally.

Ogunlesi’s firm deal places him among the wealthiest

The rise in his wealth is closely tied to GIP’s billion-dollar deal with BlackRock, which was finalised in January this year.

The partnership, valued at $12.5 billion, will establish a leading multi-asset class infrastructure investment company.

The deal included a $3 billion cash component and the issuance of about 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock, collectively valued at $9.5 billion.

It brings together a combined clientele under Management (AUM) exceeding $150 billion.