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.

U.S. investment firm BlackRock announced it is purchasing most of a Chinese company's stake in two key ports on the Panama Canal.