Private equity giant Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) said that the long-awaited recovery in global dealmaking is now firmly underway, with executives pointing to accelerating IPO and M&A activity following a multi-year freeze. Gray said the firm is now seeing the resurgence it had been anticipating, following several years of subdued transaction activity. “IPO and M&A activity are accelerating, deal sizes are increasing, and sponsor activity is picking up,” he said. According to Blackstone, global IPO issuance surged 40% year-over-year during the fourth quarter, including a two-and-a-half-fold increase in the U.S. alone. Gray likened the current environment to the post-financial-crisis reopening of capital markets.