by Duncan Foulkes From IOM Today

The offshore regions’ positive performance is all the more remarkable given the substantial geopolitical uncertainty which overshadowed 2017

A report released by law firm Appleby shows the Isle of Man office acted on two of the top ten offshore merger and acquisition deals in 2017, valued at 3.9billion US dollars and 4billion dollars respectively.

The data is included in Offshore-i, an Appleby report that details M&A activity in the major offshore financial centres and on the transactions announced over the course of any given year.

The 2017 report shows there were 2,771 deals representing a total value of 227bn US dollars, a marked increase over 2016 figures of 2,735 deals valued at a total of 219bn dollars.

Overall, the Isle of Man acted on 46 deals with an average value of 223m US dollars, two of which made it into the year’s top ten. The highest value deal at 4bn US dollars was led by partner Andrew Harding and involved Douglas based online payment transfer services provider – Paysafe Group plc – being acquired by The Blackstone Group LP and funds managed by CVC Capital Partners. The second deal valued at 3.9bn dollars saw New Europe Property Investments plc – a company which rents and operates its own or leased real estate – acquired by Rockcastle Real Estate Limited, in an entity newly
incorporated in the Isle of Man, NEPI Rockcastle plc.

This cross-border deal between the Isle of Man, Romania, South Africa and the UK was overseen by partners Juan Thornley and Kyle Sutherland and completed in July.

The remaining top 10 deals were each valued at well over 2bn dollars in a list topped by the purchase of all the issued shares of Belle International, a Cayman Islands incorporated footwear manufacturer listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The finance and insurance sector made up the largest number of deals but the value of deals was highest in the real estate sector. The Cayman Islands remained the busiest jurisdiction for offshore transactions in 2017, recording more than 800, followed by Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda. In addition to the upturn in M&A deals, 2017 was the busiest year on record for offshore initial public offerings, which is when the stock of a private company is offered to the public for the first time.

Well over 300 IPOs across the region announced their intention to begin the complex process of listing.
In total 179 companies successfully completed their listings over the year, including the £190m flotation of the Strix Group plc on the London Stock Exchange (Alternative Investment Market), on which the Isle of Man office advised. The flotation provided a clean exit for AAC Capital Partners, which invested in Strix in 2005.

Kyle Sutherland said: ‘The offshore regions’ positive performance is all the more remarkable given the substantial geopolitical uncertainty which overshadowed 2017.

‘While the deals were dominated by acquisitions, a number of companies – which had perhaps delayed IPOs in 2016 due to volatility in the financial markets – chose to add additional financing firepower by issuing new stocks and bonds last year.’

The report also points to factors that could impact on M&A in the next year including US tax reforms and regulatory scrutiny, the Chinese government’s concern over outbound deals and the deployment of private equity, among others.

IMAGES:
Juan Thornley
Kyle Sutherland

For more on this story go to: http://www.iomtoday.co.im/article.cfm?id=39979&headline=Island%E2%80%99s%20Appleby%20team%20appears%20twice%20in%20top%2010%20M&A%20deals%20list&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2018

Kyle SutherlandKyle Sutherland