Li Ka-shing’s company would have come under increased US scrutiny and risked fight in American court if it held on to overseas docks, sources say.

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.

An investor group backed by BlackRock agreed to buy a majority stake in the Hong Kong subsidiary that runs ports along either side of the Panama Canal, giving a U.S. firm control of key docks amid pressure from the White House to take them from China.