Secretive Shipping Tycoon Is Thrust Into Spotlight in Port Deal

Gianluigi Aponte, the secretive Italian billionaire who founded MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co SA, has emerged as a powerful broker in a $19 billion port deal with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing.

Aponte and his family-controlled Terminal Investment Ltd., known as TiL, are the main investors in a consortium that has proposed a $19 billion accord to buy 43 ports from Li’s CK Hutchison Holdings, people familiar with the matter have said.

The grouping includes BlackRock Inc. and its Global Infrastructure Partners unit, which will control two of the ports in Panama. GIP also has a ...