After Heinz and Dell, a Merger Boom Fails to Appear

Two big deals announced in February—Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/A) $23 billion takeover of Heinz and the proposed $24.4 billion buyout of Dell (DELL)—prompted speculation that a new wave of megamergers and buyouts was finally under way after a five-year drought. What’s happened since? Very little. The value of announced global mergers in March was about $100 billion through the 27th, on track for the lowest monthly total since July 2009.