Mergers & acquisitions (M&A) touched $25.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019, a 16.9 per cent fall compared to a strong start in the first quarter of 2018, ­­­but still elevated compared to historical levels. The number of announced deals slowed down 12.9 per cent from a year ago; the average deal size for transactions with disclosed values fell to $98.5 million during this period from $103.2 million.

Domestic M&A stood at $16.3 billion, a 28.5 per cent fall as the number of announced domestic deals slowed down 21.1 per cent. Total cross-border M&A topped $8.2 ...