The Cayman Sandwich

While the Cayman Islands is often heralded as the culinary capital of the Caribbean, you might be surprised to hear that its most famous sandwich offering is not featured on any local menus. Instead, the "Cayman sandwich" is a three-tiered corporate structure that utilizes a Cayman Islands exempted company as the ultimate parent, a Delaware limited liability company as an intermediate holding company, beneath which sit operating subsidiaries across relevant jurisdictions.

While use cases are potentially many and varied, the Cayman sandwich is particularly prevalent in international venture capital when founders and/or their businesses are located outside of the United States. The structure is especially popular in Latin America where it has been widely used since its introduction more than a decade ago, but its characteristics have global appeal.