Almost 200 deals worth $18 billion took place in Bermuda in the first half of the year, according to a report by law firm Appleby.

This marked a slowdown from the rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions activity on the island in a record-breaking 2015, returning to more historically normal levels.

“Bermuda continued to be a leading jurisdiction for offshore dealmakers in the first half of 2016, a period in which it attracted three of the offshore region’s top ten deals by value,” said Timothy Faries, Bermuda managing partner and group head of corporate in Bermuda.

“This included some of the biggest deals in the technology and mining sectors.”

The deals data is in the latest edition of Appleby’s Offshore-i publication, which found that Bermuda’s average deal size was the largest of any jurisdiction.

The report attributes the drop-off in volume in the first six months of the year in part to the uncertainty emanating from the US presidential elections and fallout from the Brexit vote in Europe, and noted that concerns over the strength of the Chinese economy and the downturn in Latin America may further temper M&A activity globally during the remainder of 2016.

“Similar to nearly all other major world regions, deal volume offshore has moved away from last year’s frantic activity and dropped back to levels seen before 2015,” said Cameron Adderley, partner and global head of orporate at Appleby. “There has certainly been a readjustment, but not one that we feel too downbeat about.”

Across jurisdictions, there were 1,406 deals targeting offshore companies in the first half of this year, representing a total value of $101 billion.

While the number of deals was down 10 per cent when compared to the second half of 2015, the first six months of the year marked the sixth straight half-year period in which the offshore region has recorded more than 1,400 deals.

The first half of the year also saw ten separate deals each worth in excess of $2 billion. The technology and software sectors accounted for six of the top ten deals of the quarter.

The largest offshore deal was the $4.8 billion acquisition of China’s CITIC Real Estate and BVI-incorporated Tuxiana Corporation by Hong Kong’s China Overseas Land & Investment.

Cayman was home to the largest number of deals, although Jersey and the BVI were the only offshore jurisdictions to see more deals in this half than the last.

The top sector for announced IPOs was property development, with companies in Bermuda, Mauritius and Cayman among those seeking to list, while financial services was also popular, with several securities dealing firms intending to debut on the stock markets imminently.