Swings in food prices have opened M&A windows across America's grocery aisles, writes Axios Pro's Ryan Barwick.

The big picture: Grocery inflation is relatively muted compared with the broader CPI, but price trends are diverging sharply across categories.

Zoom in: Price cycles can quickly juice — or crush — a food company's earnings, giving owners an incentive to sell into strength and buyers an opportunity to bet on a rebound.

Case in point: Kingswood hired North Point to sell Branding Iron less than two years after buying it, Axios has learned, as a cattle shortage has boosted beef prices and earnings.

• On the other side, pastured-egg company Vital Farms is exploring strategic alternatives after the egg market swung from shortage to oversupply.
• Chicken too, is becoming a hot commodity amongst private equity investors.

By the numbers: PE deals for packaged-food and meat producers totaled $5.92 billion through July — nearly matching the $6.75 billion recorded during all of 2025, per S&P.

• Median deal size jumped nearly 80%, even as the number of transactions declined to 140 from 264 in the same period.
• The biggest deals so far this year include CVC's purchase of flavor and fragrance giant IFF for $4.3 billion and Warburg Pincus' $1 billion investment in Global Eggs.

Zoom out: Beyond beef and eggs, buyers are also circling premium staples brands with proven pricing power.

• Strategics have been snapping up brands like mac-and-cheese maker Goodles and granola maker Purely Elizabeth, while squeeze-bottle olive oil brand Graza hired Lazard to explore a sale.

The bottom line: The question for buyers is how much of today's EBITDA will sustain until tomorrow.

Israel's Finance Ministry is objecting to the $4.2 billion sale of ZIM, its largest shipping company to Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, in part due to Saudi Arabian and Qatari holdings in the latter.

Why it's the BFD: Ocean routes are uniquely important to Israel, with the "vast majority" of its international trade via water.

Context: This also comes despite a recent secret meeting between top military commanders from the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to discuss tensions in the region.

Driving the news: The ministry pointed to the "involvement of hostile shareholders" as one of the reasons for objecting to the deal, noting Qatar and Saudi Arabia held stakes of over 10% over the business.

• "There is a genuine concern that this foreign influence could be exploited during political or diplomatic crises," Globes reports.
• The deal in question, struck in February, would offer the Israeli government a golden share in ZIM, and promises to keep a presence in Israel while expanding the fleet there.
• "We remain convinced that the concept is sound," Hapag-Lloyd wrote in a Monday statement.

The bottom line: A deal may still be struck, but investors aren't holding their breath. Shares of ZIM (NYSE: ZIM) sit at $28.67 apiece today — well below the $35 a share price Hapag-Lloyd has offered.

• Helix Digital Infrastructure, an AI infrastructure company launched by KKR and backed by Nvidia, will raise $1b from Samsung. It already has over $10b in commitments from investors including Kuwait Investment Authority and Vistra. axios.link/3Vjs8nd

🚑 EliseAI, a NYC-based housing and healthcare AI automation company, raised $350m at a $4b valuation. Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners led, joined by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Sapphire Ventures, and Navitas Capital. axios.link/4z5Lqel

• Ortet, an NYC-based frontier health AI lab, received a $500m commitment from Thoreau, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4rz4ejr

• Quartermaster, an Arlington, Va.-based maritime surveillance startup, raised $100m from Insight Partners, Overmatch Ventures, and First Round Capital. Stifel provided a $40m debt facility. axios.link/4rDt6Xv

• Ai3Bio, a Watertown, Mass.-based autoimmune biotech, raised a $48m Series A round, per Axios Pro. UPMC Enterprises and Ziff Capital Partners led, joined by Cockrell Interests and Tanis Ventures. axios.link/3VXjoDi

• Outmarket AI, an SF-based AI platform for insurance, raised $34.5m in Series B funding. SignalFire led, joined by Fika Ventures, Permanent Capital Ventures, TTV Capital, and Dash Fund. axios.link/4hiEDIi

🚑 Tiny Health, an Austin, Texas-based microbiome testing company, raised a $33m Series B round led by B Capital and joined by Black Opal Ventures, Denver Ventures, Pave Health Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Gaingels, and Pari Passu Ventures, Spero Ventures, The Venture City and Overwater Ventures. https://axios.link/4hCjZ4F

🚑 Link Cell Therapies, a South SF-based oncology cell therapy startup, raised $30m in additional Series A funding, bringing to round to $90m. Johnson & Johnson led the A, joined by Samsara BioCapital, Sheatree Capital, BMS, Kyowa Kirin, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, Western Technology Investment and the MD Anderson Cancer Focus Fund. axios.link/4hTGtPO

• Modulate, a Somerville, Mass.-based audio AI startup, raised $25m led by Future Ventures. axios.link/4rAk8Kt

• Atomic, a Boston-based supply chain planning platform, raised $12.5m from Klass Capital and Madrona Venture Group, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3TcMs9f

• Rig Security, an Israeli identity protection startup, raised $12m in seed funding led by Ten Eleven Ventures and Brightmind Partners, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4htrHzr

• Rivet, an NYC-based dating site from former Tinder and Match Group executive Taru Kapoor, raised $10.5m in seed funding, backed by Peak XV Partners, Shine Capital and Blume Ventures. axios.link/4yodQ3l

• Blue Fire AI a Tokyo-based active management company, raised $9m with participation from Asset Management One Co. axios.link/4yZ0UAD

• HiringCafe, an SF-based job discovery platform, raised $6.8m in pre-seed funding. Spark Capital led, joined by Nonfiction Capital and Silicon Gardens. axios.link/3V5WwBv

• F2, an agentic OS for institutional credit, raised $5m from Golub Capital. axios.link/4rD296c

⚡️Overlord Labs, San Jose, Calif.-based semiconductor company building battery intelligence infrastructure, extended its seed by $4.4m. Band of Angels led, joined by Foothill Ventures, Unlock Pacific Ventures, NuFund Venture Group, Sand Hill Angels and Castle Fund. axios.link/4iPZrYN

• Granite, a Portuguese "agentic cloud" startup, raised €4m led by Bifrost Studios. axios.link/3TVIv95

⚡️ Daedal Systems, a Canadian developer of standardized plasma measurement systems for the nuclear fusion industry, raised US$4m. Omers Ventures led, joined by Garage Capital, Panache Ventures, Ripple Ventures, and Mars Investment Accelerator Fund. axios.link/4e30QaW

• Dodge AI, an enterprise software maintenance startup, raised $2.7m. Accel and Google led, joined by Schema Ventures, New Build Ventures, and Antler. axios.link/3TuUyKo

• Bain Capital is investing $250m in Kahua, a construction tech firm, valuing it at $1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4rzdYKw

🚑 Carisk Partners acquired FirstCare Onsite, a Maitland, Fla.-based provider of onsite occupational healthcare services. axios.link/4hy072u

• Fifth Ocean Capital and Tartan Investment Partners invested in Complete Production Resources, an Orlando, Fla.-based live event production and equipment rental provider. axios.link/4xP03lc

• Gladstone Investment invested additional equity and debt in Detroit Defense, for its merger with Athenix Solutions Group, a Fulton, Md.-based defense contractor. axios.link/46VeNE6

• Finalsite, backed by Veritas Capital, acquired Revtrak, a school payments provider. axios.link/4hCbMgR

• H.I.G. Capital completed its acquisition of Torque, a U.K.-based omni-channel fulfillment services company. axios.link/3ViH2do

• Incline Equity Partners invested in The Conrad Company, a York, Pa.-based distributor and service provider of fluid power, motion control, automation and related industrial products. axios.link/4rCwmlG

• Liberty Mutual Investments and Thayer Street Partners invested in SunHaven Management, a NYC-based community association management platform. axios.link/4zpyHn5

• Luminate Capital Partners invested in ITpipes, pipe inspection software for sewer and stormwater systems. itpipes.com

• The Riverside Company invested in Medical Group, a French contract development and manufacturing organization. axios.link/4e69h5p

🚑 TJP, a portfolio company of Renovus Capital Partners, acquired Evolution Consulting & Research, a life sciences market research organization. axios.link/46PL6o2

• Vortex Companies, a trenchless water and sewer infrastructure rehab company backed by Quad-C Management and Vellano, bought Municipal & Contractors Sealing, a Cincinnati-based trenchless services provider. axios.link/3Vht1wE

🚑 Webster Equity Partners plans to acquire Lifecore Biomedical, a Chaska, Minn.-based injectable-grade hyaluronic acid manufacturer, in a take-private deal valued at $663.7m. axios.link/4hEK6bo

• Blockchain.com, a London- and Dallas-based crypto infrastructure company, is targeting a $4b to $6b valuation in an IPO, and is seeking to raise $500m this year. axios.link/4ylzbtZ

• Suzhou Dongshan Precision, a Chinese circuit board company, is seeking to raise up to HK$4b in an IPO in Hong Kong. axios.link/4AF4mSK

• Astorg and Bridgepoint are seeking to sell Fenergo, an Irish fintech that could fetch more than £2b, per Reuters. axios.link/4ryIjca

• AAR Corp. agreed to acquire a 65% controlling interest in MRO Holdings, a provider of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul, at a $4b enterprise value. Bain Capital backed MRO. axios.link/4yZ3bMb

• OAI Holdings acquired Omni Air International, a provider of customized charter services for commercial and government customers, from Air Transport Services Group, a portfolio company of Stonepeak. axios.link/4xVASgW

• Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) agreed to acquire Bluevine, a New Jersey-based digital banking platform for small businesses, for $340m (75% cash and 25% stock). Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, 83North, and Citi Ventures back Bluevine. axios.link/4dcgQHp

• Evonik (ETR: EVK), a German specialty chemicals company, rejected a €10.3b takeover offer from BASF (ETR: BAS). axios.link/4dWaOuH

• Mark43, a public safety startup valued by VCs at $1b, acquired ForceMetrics, a Denver-based decision-assist platform that raised $25m from backers like Costanoa, Stand Together Ventures, GovTech, George Lucas, and Mellody Hobson. axios.link/4ADPFiN

• Novo, fka Novo Nordisk, agreed to pay up to $2.6b to license an early-stage obesity pill from China's Hengrui Pharma, including $300m upfront. axios.link/3VXm6bW

• Slate Grocery REIT (TSX: SGR) agreed to be acquired for US$2.3b by a joint venture between Brixmor Property Group and Everview Partners. axios.link/4jtwlyx

• Protego Ventures raised $125m for its debut defense-focused fund in Israel. axios.link/4AF4mSK

⚡️Energy Revolution Ventures, London-based early-stage investor in electrification hardware, is raising a $50m Fund II, with backing so far from Centrica. axios.link/4ABbkIo

🚑 Amy Chen joined merchant bank Eden Global Partners as managing director of health care. She previously was with Moelis & Co. axios.link/3Vj8I1J

• Hila Cohen joined Lowenstein Sandler as a partner in its venture funds launch group. She previously was with Morrison Foerster. axios.link/4dWbQH5

• Dan Connolly was named head of technology & services investment banking at Raymond James. He was previously at William Blair. axios.link/3Vmgo3d

• Chris McMillan joined Houlihan Lokey as a managing director in its FinTech Group. He previously headed blockchain and internet investment banking at Credit Suisse. axios.link/4juT8tK

Shares of AMD rose nearly 2% in early trading Tuesday, after the company announced plans to acquire physical world model company, World Labs.

• Investors in the company have been rewarded with 210.1% returns since late March — handily beating rival (and golden child) Nvidia's gains in the same period.