Bermuda bucked the trend in mergers and acquisitions by recording 74 deals in the third quarter — usually a quiet time of year for M&A.That is according to a report released by offshore law firm Appleby, who said the deals amounted $9.08 billion.The planned $623 million acquisition of Flagstone by Validus Holdings was one of the biggest insurance deals of the year and one of several examples of consolidation in the industry.Bermuda also saw the largest deal involving an offshore target, the $3.6 billion stake taken in the locally incorporated Dutch telecom firm Vimpelcom by Russia’s Altimo. The $1 billion acquisition of Genpact Ltd by Bain Capital Partners LLC made the jurisdiction home to two of the six biggest offshore deals of the third quarter.“It is clear the jurisdiction remains an attractive area for offshore investors, particularly in the financial sector,” said Timothy Faries, Bermuda Group head, Corporate and Commercial.“Despite an anticipated lull for the third quarter, the jurisdiction saw an increase in deals and value, and led offshore in value per deal.“The insurance transactions reported so far this year indicate the market is confident and key players are looking to add scale and capacity to their businesses.“The Flagstone acquisition by Validus Holdings is a good example of this strategy. It allows Validus to further build on its market-leading position by adding a strong client base that adds scale to its business.“Looking at this alongside the other insurance deals we have been involved in this year, including the $227 million acquisition of Hardy Underwriting Bermuda by CNA Financial Corporation, and the $257 million acquisition of Omega Insurance by Canopius Holdings, we are confident the sector will continue to dominate the Bermuda transactions landscape for the full year, and well into 2013.”Overall in offshore jurisdictions, the report found there was a 10 percent drop in the volume, and a 17 percent drop in the value, of transactions compared to the second quarter.Values were 11 percent higher than they were in the same period last year, suggesting that conditions are improving year-on-year.Cayman remains the most attractive offshore destination for investors, for the third quarter running, followed by Hong Kong, which witnessed a significant increase in the value of deals involving its companies as targets.