BizBen.com

California’s marketplace where small businesses are bought and sold continues a slow recovery from the recession-caused slump, with buyers representing pent-up demand, but frequently unable to complete their deals.

The 43 small and mid-sized business for sale offerings sold in Fresno County last month represent a 14% drop from the county’s total of 50 completed transactions during January of last year, it was reported by the BizBen Index.

A total of 481 small and mid-sized Sacramento County businesses were sold last year, an increase of about 6.4% over the 452 deal count posted for the county in 2011, according to the BizBen Index in its monthly business-for-sale transactions report.

A total of 245 small and mid-sized San Joaquin County businesses were sold last year, an increase of nearly 4% compared to the count of 236 completed deals in 2011, it was announced by the BizBen Index.