Bankruptcy-related mergers and acquisitions have hit their highest level globally since August 2004, and are set to keep rising as more companies are forced into distressed sales, according to Thomson Reuters data and restructuring practitioners.

Thomson Reuters identified 34 announced deals in March alone, and 67 so far this year, where the target company was in bankruptcy or administration proceedings. The vast majority were in the US or Japan – reflecting the earlier onset of the recession in the US and more liberal bankruptcy rules in both countries, which allow companies to continue operating while they reorganise.