Mergers and acquisitions withdrawn by private equity firms globally came close to the level of announced deals last month, as buyout groups cancelled deals worth nearly $11bn (€7.4bn).

Announced private equity deals totalled $13bn in January, just $2.1bn more than the volume of deals cancelled during the month, according to Thomson Financial, as buyout groups continued to struggle with the impact of the credit crunch on their ability to finance transactions.