New York partner Michael Benjamin was one of the featured panelists in a December 9 webcast, hosted by The Deal and Merrill Datasite, on "Dissecting the 2010 IPO Market & Beyond." Benjamin was joined by The Deal’s senior writer Mary Kathleen Flynn; Scott Cutler, Executive Vice President of NYSE Euronext; Herbert A. May III of Signal Hill Capital Group LLC; and Kathleen Smith, Principal, Renaissance Capital LLC, in the 60-minute discussion. Benjamin pointed out that 2010 was kind of a "tale of two halves"—a first half characterized by pressure on pricing and execution with a larger number of deals put on hold followed by a robust post-Labor Day period noteworthy for a significant increase in volume and less overall pressure on valuations. He cited, as reasons for the second-half resurgence, the stabilization of the economy, improved inflows into equity investment funds and less pressure to get deals done due to capital raising alternatives in the debt capital markets. And while Benjamin expressed optimism for 2011, especially where quality offerings are concerned, he did conclude with a cautionary note: "As always, there's risk out there."

Click here for the “Dissecting the 2010 IPO market and beyond” webcast.