CK Hutchison Holdings Limited said on Monday it plans to invite a major Chinese strategic investor to join as a “significant member” of a consortium seeking to buy certain ports owned and operated by Hutchison Ports Group, after the deadline for exclusive talks for a period of 145 days on the US$22,765m deal expired.

The company confirmed that the period for exclusive negotiations between the Group and a Consortium has expired.

The announcement comes as the 145-day exclusivity period for talks between CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, and BlackRock, Inc., Global Infrastructure Partners, and Terminal Investment Limited (together, the BlackRock-TiL Consortium), has expired.

The deal involved the sale by the Group of all shares in Hutchison Port Holdings S.a r.l. (HPHS) and all shares in Hutchison Port Group Holdings Limited (HPGHL).

“Notwithstanding such expiry, the Group remains in discussions with members of the consortium with a view to inviting major strategic investor from the PRC to join as a significant member of the consortium,” the company said in a stock exchange filing.

It did not name the major Chinese investor.

The firm added that changes to the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction will be needed for the transaction to be “capable of being approved by all relevant authorities.”

It said it had stated on several occasions that it “will not proceed with any transaction that does not have the approval of all relevant authorities.”

CK Hutchison stressed it “intends to allow such time as is required for such discussions to achieve the new arrangements,” adding that there can be no certainty that the discussions will reach a successful conclusion.

As referred to its announcement on March 4, HPHS and HPGHL together hold the entire 80% effective interest of the Group in the Hutchison Ports group, which in turn holds interests in subsidiary and associated companies owning, operating and developing a total of 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries, together with all HPH’s management resources, operations, terminal operating system, IT and other systems and other assets appertaining to control and operations of those ports.

To remind, the sale perimeter does not include any interest in the Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which operates ports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as South China, or any other ports in Mainland China.

Agreement in-principle was also reached on March 4 on the acquisition by the BlackRock-TiL Consortium of Hutchison Port Holdings’s 90% interests in Panama Ports Company, S.A. (PPC), which owns and operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama.