Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. has hired law firm Paul Hastings LLP to work on the blockbuster sale of its ports business, a major win for an adviser that rarely cracks the top of M&A league tables,

The deal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to take control of the Panama Canal and end what he sees as China’s influence over the waterway critical to global trade.

That looks set to end. CK Hutchison has reached an agreement that will see the BlackRock-TiL Consortium (BlackRock Inc., Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited) acquire Hutchison Port Holdings’ 90% interests in Panama Ports Company (PPC),