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. President Donald Trump praised a $22.8 billion deal led by BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) to acquire CK Hutchisons global port assets, including Panama Ports Company, which controls Balboa and Cristobal ports at both ends