The Cayman Islands recorded more M&A transactions than any other offshore jurisdiction in the first half of 2018, while also seeing the total value of its deals increase by nearly 50 percent over the second half of 2017, according to a report by law firm Appleby.
The latest edition of Offshore-i, an Appleby report that provides data and insight on merger and acquisition activity in the major offshore financial centres, focuses on transactions announced over the first half of 2018. Following a similar pattern to most of the world’s regions, the volume of offshore deals has fallen back from levels seen in the latter half of 2017, while value is on the rise.
In total, there were 1,344 deals recorded in the first half of 2018, representing a 10 percent decrease when compared to the last six months of 2017. The total deal value of $216bn, meanwhile, marked a 68 percent increase over the second half of 2017 and was driven in part by the $62bn acquisition of Jersey-incorporated Shire PLC by Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical.
The most frequent types of deals were acquisitions, capital increases and minority stakes in other companies. Typically, these three categories have been fairly balanced but the last 18 months have seen acquisitions move notably ahead to where they now make up 40 percent of all deals.
“It is good to see Cayman remain the busiest offshore jurisdiction for dealmaking to start off the year,” said Simon Raftopoulos, partner and group head of Appleby’s private equity practice in the Cayman Islands. “Despite a dip in the number of local deals when compared to the second half of 2017, Cayman experienced a significant rise in deal value and was home to four of the 10 largest deals of 2018 thus far.”
Appleby, M&A, Acquisitions, Cayman Islands
