Worldwide value of mergers and acquisitions down 10.3% in first quarter

Mergermarket puts figure at $405.9bn, down from $452.3bn in the same period in 2012 despite a series of megadeals

The first quarter figures included the acquisition of Heinz by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the investment firm 3G Capital. Photograph: AP

The value of merger and acquisition deals worldwide fell by 10.3% in the first three months of the year to $405.9bn (£268.5bn), despite a series of megadeals including the $27.4bn takeover of Heinz.

The total for the first quarter of 2013 compares with $452.3bn in the same period in 2012, according to a survey by Mergermarket. It was, however, the fourth consecutive quarter to record an average deal size of more than $300m.

Mergermarket said much of the decline was accounted for by the multi-billion dollar merger between the commodities trader Glencore and the mining group Xstrata, which boosted first quarter figures in 2012.

The largest deal was the acquisition of Heinz by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and the investment firm 3G Capital. Big UK names were in the frame too, with Liberty Global's $21.9bn takeover of Virgin Media accounting for nearly a fifth of all merger and acquisition activity in Europe since the start of the year.

The survey includes formal offers as well as completed deals, which means it takes in the attempted $21.8bn buyout of Dell by the computer maker's founder, Michael Dell, and the private equity company Silver Lake Partners.

As shown by the Heinz and Dell deals, private equity is making a sustained comeback in the US. Private equity buyouts in the first quarter of 2013 reached $84.8bn, their highest level since the fourth quarter of 2010.

European buyout firms underperformed their US peers, with merger and acquisition activity falling by more than a third to $17bn. In contrast, the US saw its buyout value rise by 114% on the same quarter last year