The plunge in financial sponsor activity fortunately has not proven contagious for really small deal makers. While big and mid-market deals continue to fall, those worth less than $100 million continue to rise, notes Investment Dealers' Digest. These deals tend to be easier to close, as they are less dependent on high-yield type financing. Regional and small banks tend to be behind the financing. A lot of this is the sale of family businesses, it seems. This isn't enough to make a dent in the overall deal slowdown, but hey, a little good news is better than no good news at all.  

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