Report: M&A Deals Remain Nearly Flat in the First Nine Months of 2013

Mergers and acquisitions worldwide reached $1.67 trillion from January through Sept. 24, just a 0.8 percent increase from the same period last year, Reuters reported Thursday.

Michael Erman and Soyoung Kim write investment bankers do not expect the pace of dealmaking to significantly increase anytime soon due to factors such as global economic uncertainty, rising interest rates and shifting regulations.

The number of deals this year has declined 9.6 percent to 25,374, according to the report.

“Between increased rates, and, at times, unpredictable deal-approval regulatory framework, and continued debt ceiling issues, we’re back in the annual dance of uncertainty,” said Paul Parker, head of global corporate finance and M&A at Barclays.

Reuters reports M&A volume in the third quarter grew, driven in part by Verizon Communications‘ $130 billion deal to buy out partner Vodafone Group from their wireless joint venture.

Erman and Kim write the Americas accounted for 54 percent of M&A transactions around the globe.

Transactions backed by private-equity companies rose 16 percent to $238.2 billion on a year over year basis, Reuters reports.