April 2 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( CP )

said on Wednesday it and U.S.-based Lanco Group have sold the

Panama Canal Railway Company to a unit of Denmark's Maersk

, one of the world's largest container shipping

groups.

The Canadian railway company did not disclose terms of the

deal, but added the deal would help it focus on its core assets

in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

The acquisition "represents an attractive infrastructure

investment in the region aligned to our core services of

intermodal container movement," said Keith Svendsen, CEO of

Maersk's unit APM Terminals.

Founded as a joint venture between units of Canadian Pacific

and Lanco Group, the Panama Railway Company provides rail-based

freight and passenger services along the canal. It posted a

revenue of $77 million last year.

The deal comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's

administration has threatened to take over the canal - built by

the United States and returned to Panama in 1999 - over

allegations of growing foreign presence, especially China.

Hong Kong's CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) had last month agreed to

sell key ports near the Panama Canal to a group led by BlackRock ( BLK )

, which had eased some of the pressure from Trump.

However, the deal, originally expected to be signed this

week, is now expected to be delayed over China's criticism.