据彭博社消息，由贝莱德牵头的财团计划以 228 亿美元的协议收购香港长江和记实业在巴拿马运河两个重要港口的大部分股份，威嘉律师事务所将为买方提供法律服务。

长江和记实业通过旗下子公司，经营着位于巴拿马运河大西洋和太平洋两侧的港口。

彭博社补充道，普衡律师事务所将为卖方提供法律意见。彭博指出这标志着长和的策略转变——因为该集团以往在许多交易中，主要与富而德、年利达等律师事务所合作。

据路透社报道，长和此次向美国和瑞士投资者出售的不仅包括巴拿马运河相关资产，还涉及多个国家的数十个港口。白宫施压下促成的这笔交易将帮助买方获得对关键码头的控制权，以削弱中国对巴拿马运河的影响力。

路透社进一步指出，美国总统曾对中国及香港公司在巴拿马的运营表示不满。美国官员和政界人士认为，长和对相关港口的控制构成了对巴拿马运河运营的安全威胁。

路透社援引长和声明，该交易将使投资财团获得巴拿马港口公司90% 的股份。过去20余年，该公司一直在巴拿马运营巴尔博亚（Balboa）和克里斯托瓦尔（Cristobal）港口。

Paul Hastings, Weil acting on $23 bln Panama canal deal: Bloomberg

Weil Gotshal & Manges is advising a BlackRock-led investor group on its $22.8 billion agreement to buy a majority stake in Hong Kong's CK Hutchison, which runs ports along either side of the Panama Canal, Bloomberg has reported.

Bloomberg added that the sellers are being advised by Paul Hastings, noting that it marks a shift for CK Hutchison as the Hong Kong conglomerate has worked on many of its deals with law firms such as Freshfields and Linklaters before. 

According to Reuters, the sale by CK Hutchison to U.S. and Swiss investors also includes dozens of ports in other countries, and gives the buyers control of key docks amid pressure from the White House to take them from China.

Reuters added that the U.S. president has complained about the presence of Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies in Panama, and American officials and politicians have said CK Hutchison's control of the ports represents a security risk for the operation.

The sale of licenses will result in the consortium gaining a 90 percent stake in Panama Ports Company, which has been the operator of the Balboa and Cristobal ports in the Central American country for more than two decades, Reuters referenced a CK Hutchison statement as saying.