Merger and acquisition activity recorded a 36 per cent month-on-month fall in monetary terms in August, according to new North America-focused research.

As the vacation period took hold, August saw 946 M&A deals targeting North American companies worth a combined $175.68 billion, compared to 1,290 deals worth $274.34 billion in July, according to a report from Zephyr.

The value was also down from August last year, when the value of transactions totalled $184.38 billion. Notably, M&A value targeting Canadian companies dove almost four-fold from $8.07 billion in July to $2.16 billion in August, as volume weakened by over a third. Compared to the $17,394 million recorded at the same time last year, value plummeted 88 per cent as volume fell 41 per cent.

“August is traditionally a quieter month, so weaker M&A results from North America are not a great surprise. That said, deal values were still robust and the involvement of Warren Buffett in the month’s top deal is a positive sign for the current M&A landscape. Significant growth in private equity investment is also very encouraging,” said Zephyr director Lisa Wright.

In contrast to the general slump in North America's deal activity, the value of private equity and venture capital investment in the region grew almost three-quarters month-on-month and double year-on-year to $26.3 billion in August. Volume however dipped to its lowest point in the last year, according to the report.

Zephyr, a provider of information on M&A, IPO and venture capital deals, contains data on over 1 million deals.