A new Mergermarket report reveals a total of 354 deals worth US$66.6bn were announced in the region, down 23.6 per cent on Q1 2011 (US$ 87.1bn) and 6 per cent on the previous quarter (US$ 70.9bn in Q4 2011). In Q3 2009, there were just $65.4bn worth of deals.

The Mergermarket report shows Asian M&A market continued its downward trend in the first quarter of this year, with total deal value down, compared to Q4 2011, four-fifths in Australia, nearly three-quarters in South Korea, two-thirds in Hong Kong.

China was relatively steady, down just a fraction from US$ 22.5bn to US$ 21.9bn. The growth exception was India, where Sesa Goa’s announced acquisition of Sterlite Industries (India) for US$ 10.3bn, spurred total deal value to increase tenfold compared to the previous quarter.

Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) inbound cross-border deals in Q1 2012 added up to US$ 10.6bn, down 55.6 per cent from Q1 2011 (US$23.9bn) and the lowest level since Q1 2009 (US$ 8.4bn). The region’s outbound cross-border total deal value was US$ 10.7bn in the first quarter of this year, a 47.4 per cent decrease on Q1 2011 (US$ 20.3bn) and the lowest total since Q3 2009 (US$ 7bn).

While the usual suspects continue to account for the biggest share of Asia-Pacific M&A, there was noticeably more activity in smaller Southeast Asian countries. Perenco SA’s US$ 1.3bn acquisition of the Vietnam business unit of ConocoPhillips placed 11th among the region’s top deals.

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In Australia, Rothschils was the number one financial adviser by value, with four deals worth US$5bn. Goldman Sachs came in second, with 3 deals worth US$2.3bn. Macquarie Group had 2 deals worth US$1.4bn.