BARBADOS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Debbie Fraser, Joanna M Austin and Makela Harrison-Yarde, Fraser Law
ticularly when conducting due diligence, given its ability to condense and summarise large amounts of data quickly. The authors anticipate that AI will be utilised by parties to identify the key legislative requirements across multi-indus - try M&A transactions in order to determine what approvals, permits or licences are required. Regulators are now embracing technology as a way of doing business, interacting with the pub - lic and facilitating electronic applications. The authors also anticipate that, in future, regulators may find a way to incorporate AI and leverage its benefits to facilitate key functions, such as conducting searches of public records as part of due diligence by purchaser. This will have to be approached cautiously given the data held by regulators. Human Capital Employment and labour factors are significant considerations in local M&A. It is common for parties to have early discussions with trade
unions regarding employee considerations. The Employment Rights Act of Barbados (ERA) gen - erally provides that where a business is acquired and staff are not made redundant by the out - going employer, they will continue to be the employees of the acquired business. All rights and calculations for any severance and benefits will continue to be calculated from the date of original employment. In recent times, the authors have not seen any significant labour disputes arising from M&A due to the parties having early discussions and often giving employees voluntary severance packages, or retaining the employees to continue the business. Conclusion With Barbados’ economy projected to continue to grow steadily, coupled with its improved com - pliance and regulatory status, it is anticipated that the current trend of locally driven M&A will continue as Barbados becomes more attractive to investors.
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