Leading offshore law firm Appleby has released its Q3 report on the M&A activity in offshore financial centres. The Cayman Islands maintained its position as the most popular offshore jurisdiction for deal making in the third quarter of 2013.

“The Cayman Islands accounted for 39 percent of total offshore deal value in the third quarter of 2013 and its attractiveness continues to grow” said Bryan Hunter, Managing Partner of Appleby’s Cayman Islands office. “Cayman has consistently recorded the most deals of the offshore markets this year, and we’re confident it will remain the top offshore jurisdiction for dealmakers around the globe.”

The report was cautiously optimistic about a return of investor confidence, noting an even distribution of deals, an increase in the number of acquisitions and a shift of investment value from minority to majority stake purchases.

Here are some Cayman specific highlights

• Cayman accounted for 26 percent of all the deals done and 39 percent of the total deal value, with 140 of the 538 offshore deals and US$13.5 billion of the $34.5 billion deal value.
• The average deal size in the Cayman Islands in the third quarter was US$96.3 million, well above the overall average value of $64 million
• Cayman was home to the three largest offshore transactions and four of the top five overall.
• In private equity deals, the Cayman Islands attracted the biggest institutional buyout of this quarter, with Blackstone Group paying $500 million for Cayman Islands banking services software developer Pactera Technology

If you can answer these questions, using real-life examples to illustrate your points, then you should be able to answer most of the questions that arise including the following frequently asked questions.

Report – http://www.applebyglobal.com/news-and-deals/appleby-reports-on-q3–2013-offshore-manda-activity.aspx

Cayman Compass article – http://compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/11/13/Cayman-remains-offshore-M-A-leader/

This is very positive news from a recruitment perspective and market growth will be reflected in the leading law firms’ hiring strategies for 2014. We have already seen an upturn in demand across transactional practice areas including investment funds, finance and private equity and anticipate continued growth and demand over the next 6-12 months.

Please see below for a selection of relevant job opportunities:

Private Equity/Funds Lawyer (3PQE)
Finance/Banking Lawyer (3-4PQE)
Corporate/Funds Lawyer (3PQE)
Corporate/Funds Lawyer (5PQE) 

If you are interested in exploring a move offshore and can offer the requisite number of years PQE at a leading City, international or offshore law firm as well as a strong academic track record, please make contact with Anna Jay for a confidential discussion – a.jay@cmlor.com or call +1 345 949 1345.