Interesting article in the WSJ deal book this morning - basically confirming what we have been seeing in the market place. In sum: deals are trending downward in size, and the lower-middle market remains surprisingly strong.

The simple reason? Less leverage on deals. Historically these companies have transacted for far lower multiples than their PubCo and much larger cousins. And in an atmosphere off "de-leveraging" and tighter credit, less leverage on a deal means a greater appetite from the PE world.

From the article:

The panelists also conveyed a shift in investment focus toward distressed investments and smaller deals, and away from highly leveraged acquisitions of large companies. “One of the big issues impacting the market is a high degree of leverage that was used in deals. Leverage accounted for a lot of the return, but we thought operating excellence should drive returns,” Haslip said.