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.

A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the port