CAYMAN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Shari Seymour, Kerry Ann Phillips and Michael Lockwood, Maples Group
Maples Group Ugland House South Church Street PO Box 309 Grand Cayman KY1-1104 Cayman Islands Tel: +1 345 949 8066 Fax: +1 345 949 8080 Web: www.maples.com
1. Trends 1.1 M&A Market
1.2 Key Trends With a reduction in interest rates as well as strong equity markets, private equity firms continue to lead take-private transactions and companies looking for growth in or through technology and digital transformation. Notable deals in 2024 involving Cayman Islands vehicles include the following. • Global IBO Group Ltd. (GIBO), an integrated AI-generated content animation streaming platform in Asia, entered into a de-SPAC transaction with Bukit Jalil Global Acquisi - tion 1 Ltd. (BUJA). The business combina - tion values GIBO at USD8.3 billion, and the new company is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq. • Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specialising in infrastructure and real assets, acquired Textainer Group Holdings Limited, one of the world’s largest lessors of intermodal containers, in a deal worth USD7.4 billion. • Sixth Street entered into a take-private trans - action of ESR Group Ltd (ESR), as part of a consortium with Starwood Capital Group, SSW Partners, QIA, Warburg Pincus and cer - tain founders of ESR. The transaction will be
In 2024, the global M&A market saw an 8% increase in deal values compared to 2023, reaching USD3.4 trillion. This growth stemmed partly from an increase in private equity deals and take-privates, as well as post-US election results and the potential for policy changes in the Trump administration. The sectors that benefitted included energy, technol - ogy (including AI), healthcare and private equity. The main types of entity incorporated or regis - tered in the Cayman Islands are the exempted company, the exempted limited partnership (ELP) and the limited liability company (LLC). According to the annual statistics issued by the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies, the Registrar of Exempted Limited Partnerships and the Registrar of Limited Liability Companies, the number of new incorporations and formations increased compared to 2023, as follows: • 8,913 exempted companies (7,540 in 2023); • 3,802 exempted limited partnerships (3,660 in 2023); and • 859 limited liability companies (690 in 2023).
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