Deals dominate

Offshore firms are benefiting from frenetic levels of onshore activity. So which deals stand out?

The deal momentum of the offshore market, which picked up sharply during the latter half of 2020, continued without pause throughout 2021 generating a significant volume of M&A, IPOs, and SPAC listings. As the COVID lockdowns were eased onshore and vaccine roll-outs became more widespread, global M&A activity, and related debt financing, continued to forge ahead reaching record levels. Fuelled by very low interest rates and stratospherically high levels of unallocated capital, global private equity dry powder hit an all-time high of $1.9trn in January, leading to a surge in buyout deal activity during the year. Inevitably, offshore activity saw a near parallel increase in the various types of deal activity.

Covering a wide range of sectors and markets across a broad sweep of jurisdictions, the breadth and scale of deals outlined below serve as a representative sample of the largest and most interesting advisory work undertaken this year by the leading offshore law firms. Demonstrating the offshore markets’ infinite capacity to innovate, several are a genuine first of their kind. Most investors and lenders are in still in the early stages of their ESG journey, but the appearance of ESG financing, recycling and marine conservation in some of last year’s most significant deals shows the direction of travel. As sustainable investing gathers pace, it is likely to have a significant impact on deals in the year ahead.