Jersey deal value rises 26 percent in 2015, Appleby report finds

Friday 04 March 2016

Jersey recorded the highest number of M&A transactions it has seen in the last five years in 2015, with the total value of those deals marking a 26% increase over the previous year, according to a report released today by offshore 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 during the course of 2015.

The total cumulative value of offshore M&A deals across all offshore jurisdictions measured in the report in 2015 increased 56% over the previous year, with average deal value topping highs not seen since 2007, the report found.

“Jersey had its best annual performance in the past five years in 2015, building on a steady upward trajectory in deal volume since 2011,” said Wendy Benjamin, Partner Group Head of Appleby’s Corporate Department in Jersey. “The top 10 Jersey deals also show the strength of the jurisdiction across a number of important sectors including the finance industry, mining, manufacturing, telecoms and real estate. Jersey was  a contributor in what was a robust year for transactional activity in the offshore markets by all key metrics, including deal value, deal volume and average deal size.”

With 204 deals in 2015, Jersey saw a 5% increase in volume over 2014. Meanwhile, cumulative deal value stood at USD24.2bn, an increase of 26% over the previous year and marking a fourth straight year of growth. Average deal size came in at USD119m in 2015, a 20% increase over the previous year.

Jersey was also the home of one of the year’s largest transactions in the offshore region and the year’s biggest deal in the mining sector—with the USD5.4bn acquisition of Jersey-incorporated gold mining company Polyus Gold International Ltd by Sacturino Ltd of Cyprus. It was one of six Jersey deals in 2015 that were each worth USD1bn or greater.