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At the Deal's M&A Outlook 2009 conference, dealmakers Jay Rothman, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, and David Turner, managing director, head of private equity at Guardian, debated the M&A outlook for the middle market in 2009.

Rothman argued that strategic acquirers are concerned about visibility while developing acquisition strategies for 2009. "I expect that in the regulatory climate there will be a paradigm shift, certainly on the regulatory side, that will impact even middle-market transactions," he said.

However, Turner said there are plenty of middle-market opportunities to be had. "If this next fourth recession is any harbinger of what happens in the past, these are going to be the years -- 2009 and 2010 -- to actually place capital," he stated.

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