There has been a big growth in merger and acquisition deals, law firm Appleby says.

The latest edition of Offshore-i, an Appleby report that provides data on merger and acquisition activity in the offshore financial centres, focuses on 2018. While the total number of deals dipped when compared to 2017, value was up significantly.

The Isle of Man, specifically, recorded 43 deals in 2018 worth $2.3 billion.

The Cayman Islands led the way in total deal value in 2018, with three transactions featured in the offshore region’s 10 biggest deals. Cayman was also the busiest jurisdiction for offshore deals, recording 867. It was followed by Hong Kong (709 deals), the British Virgin Islands (504 deals) and Bermuda (307 deals).