NEW YORK: The US merger and acquisition market fell 18.6% to $628.8 billion between January 1 and September 30, 2012, compared with the same period of last year.

The global M&A market shrank 17.4% in the first three quarters of this year, down to $1.46 trillion in the period, according to the Mergermarket League Tables of PR Advisers.

Amanda Levin, editor for the Americas at Mergermarket, attributed the decrease in M&A deals to a “perfect storm” of a struggling global economy ...