JERSEY topped the table for offshore mergers and acquistions in the final quarter of last year as a result of the purchase by the world’s biggest commodity trader Glencore of mining giant Xstrata.

The deal was valued at US$33 billion and was attributed to Jersey as Glencore is incorporated in the Island.

On the flip side, there was a 64% drop in the value of deals in which Jersey companies were targets of mergers or buy outs in the final three months of the year.

A report prepared by global legal and finance group Appleby showed that in the final three months of 2012 offshore markets had their biggest jump in M&A transactions in three years.