Earlier this week, a bill was introduced in the Delaware General Assembly that could create a pathway for Elon Musk to get back his 2018 Tesla CEO pay package.

Why it matters: For once, this is a story that is about more than just Musk.

The big picture: This proposal could make it harder for investors to sue their majority shareholding executives, and potentially easier for a company to get a contested acquisition or merger approved.

Context: Currently, transactions that involve a controlling shareholder require approval from both a majority of minority shareholders, and from an independent committee.

• The proposed law would require only one of the two.

Background: Paramount is currently facing a high-profile lawsuit in which investors are challenging its $8 billion deal with Skydance, alleging that Shari Redstone had "conflicting interests."

• The plaintiffs may have a steeper hill to climb under the proposed new Delaware rules, says Chris Harvey, a lawyer at Harvey Esquire.

Between the lines: The law carves out "going private" transactions from these potentially relaxed rules — or any deal in which the minority shareholders' stake is canceled or acquired.

• So it could be argued that the law's impact on the M&A market will be muted.

Yes, but: "The boundary of what constitutes a 'going private' transaction is almost laughably slippery, so a good transactional attorney can set up any number of transactions to dodge that boundary," says Columbia Law School professor Eric Talley.

• The proposed law also makes it possible for companies to pad the independent committee with friendlies.

The bottom line: Where there's a multi-billion dollar will, there's a way.

Celsius (Nasdaq: CELH) agreed to acquire Alani Nu, a female-focused energy drink brand for $1.8 billion.

Why it's the BFD: Alani Nu was considered the last big energy drink brand up from grabs.

Flashback: Keurig Dr Pepper agreed to acquire Ghost for over $1 billion at the end of last year. Monster acquired Bang Energy in 2023. PepsiCo in turn took a $550 million stake in Celsius back in 2022, and acquired Rockstar Energy for $3.9 billion in 2020.

The bottom line: "After a long auction process, spurred by a disagreement between the founders and the investor, Alani Nu attracted an adrenaline-inducing valuation." — Axios Pro Deals' Richard Collings

• Together AI, an SF-based company that gives access to artificial intelligence computing, raised $305m at a $3.3b valuation. General Catalyst and Saudi Arabia's Prosperity7 Ventures led, joined by Salesforce Ventures, Nvidia Corp., Kleiner Perkins, Emergence Capital, Lux Capital, and Coatue Management participated. axios.link/4bcFcyH

• Fluidstack, a British startup selling cloud-computing services for AI, is in talks to raise up to $200m in Series A funding. axios.link/4hHLnwW

• Mercor, an SF-based hiring software company, raised a $100m Series B at a $2b valuation. Felicis led with participation from General Catalyst, DST Global, Benchmark, and Menlo Ventures. mercor.com

• 73 Strings, a Paris-based monitoring and data insights platform for alternative managers, raised $55m in Series B funding. Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the round with participation from Golub Capital, Hamilton Lane, Blackstone Innovations Investments and Broadhaven Ventures. 73strings.com

• Rinse, an SF-based laundry and dry cleaning pickup and delivery app, raised $23m in Series D funding led by LG Electronics. rinse.com

• AheadComputing, a Portland, Ore.-based general-purpose computing and microprocessor business, raised $21.5m in seed funding. Eclipse led with participation from Maverick Capital, Fundomo, and EPIQ Capital Group. axios.link/3QuzzlM

• SmartSuite, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based project management and collaboration platform, has raised $38m in a $13m Series A round led by Canapi Ventures, and a $25m founder-led seed investment. smartsuite.com

• Resynergi, a Rohnert Park, Calif.-based plastic recycling company, raised $18m in Series B funding. Taranis led the round. axios.link/4i5Ga1O

🚑 Millie, an SF virtual maternity care and remote patient monitoring company, raised a $12m Series A co-led by TMV and Foreground Capital, joined by Pivotal Ventures and the March of Dimes Innovation Fund. axios.link/4i6SgYx

• SingleFile, a Seattle-based legal & compliance tech business, raised $9m led by Foundry Group, with participation from Pioneer Square Labs, The LegalTech Fund, Wilson Sonsini, Cooley, and DLA Piper. axios.link/41bGaXn

🚑 Zymvol, a Spanish enzymes discovery startup, raised €3m in seed funding led by Faber Ventures, joined by Übermorgen Ventures and insider Elaia Partners. axios.link/4k5orJJ

🚑 Noah Labs, a German telemonitoring company for patients with heart failure, raised €3m in seed funding. Nina Capital led the round with participation from adesso ventures and the Foundation of the German Heart Center Berlin. axios.link/41nls87

🚑 Proximity, a Chicago-based platform for maximizing 340B drug discount revenue, raised $3m led by LRVHealth with participation from Commonweal Ventures. proximityhealth.com

🚑 Swell, a Louisville, Ky.-based mental health company focused on self-guided interventional care, raised $1.6m from Keyhorse Capital, Bluegrass Angels, PeakState Ventures, defy.vc, and Fairwater Labs. getswell.app

• Apollo Global Management, Sycamore Partners, and Brigade Capital Management are among the bidders competing to acquire Family Dollar, a discount retail chain operated by Dollar Tree (Nasdaq: DLTR). axios.link/4koajLV

• Carlyle, Thoma Bravo, and TA Associates have been shortlisted in the bidding for SmartTrade Technologies, the French trading and payments platform backed by Hg. Bids value it around €550m to €600m. axios.link/436XHCl

• EarthDaily Analytics, backed by Antarctica Capital, acquired SkyForest, a Canada-based wildfire risk assessment and forestry analytics business. skyforest.io

• Fenceworks, a portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, acquired Kansas Fencing, a Topeka, Kan.-based fencing and gate company. axios.link/3QuHOOS

• HBM Healthcare Investments is weighing a sale of Swixx Biopharma, a Swiss pharmaceuticals distribution business. A deal could value it around $1.7b. axios.link/4i8kges

🚑 Insight Partners merged Burlington, Mass., population health management company Azara Healthcare with Franklin, Tenn., peer i2i Population Health. Insight joins existing Azara Healthcare backer Hughes & Company. axios.link/4hJVRfe

• Apollo Global Management, I Squared Capital and Stonepeak Partners have expressed interest in Goodpack, the Singaporean container and logistics services provider backed by KKR. A deal could value Goodpack at $1.5b. axios.link/3EM5SKx

• Ridgeline Roofing & Restoration, a portfolio company of Bertram Capital, acquired Pro Shield, a Madison, Miss.-based residential and commercial roofing services company. axios.link/41pr0it

• Searchlight Capital Partners and Hudson Structured Capital Management invested in Gracie Point Holdings, a New York-based provider of life insurance premium finance. axios.link/4ka3PzV

• Sedgwick, backed by the Carlyle Group, agreed to acquire Thoma Bravo-backed Bottomline's legal spend management division. axios.link/4i2I0Ak

• Unanet, backed by Onex and JMI Equity, acquired Contraqer, an Arlington, Va.-based provider of market intelligence and procurement software for government contractors. axios.link/4kbH9PJ

• Valsoft, backed by Viking Global and Coatue, acquired of Digital Currency Systems, a provider of cash checking point-of-sale systems for the alternative financial services industry. valsoftcorp.com

• Loar Group is in talks to acquire LMB Aerospace, a French maker of electrics fans and cooling solutions, from investors including Tikehau Capital, Amundi Private Equity Funds. tikehaucapital.com

• Valvoline (NYSE: VVV) acquired Breeze Autocare, an automotive maintenance services company, from Greenbriar Equity Group for $625m. axios.link/3ELfDZ8

• Canadian Tire, an autoware and homeware retailer, will sell its workwear business Helly Hansen to Greensboro, N.C.-based lifestyle brand Kontoor Brands for C$1.3b. axios.link/4hZf4JS

• Spirit Airlines' top bondholders are expected to take over the business after the airline won court approval to leave bankruptcy. That group includes Citadel Advisors, Pacific Investment Management, and Western Asset Management. axios.link/3QpTfY3

• Afore Capital raised $185m for its fourth fund. axios.link/4b953rc

• Wellington Management closed its Wellington CLO Partners Fund I with $194 million. wellington.com

• U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick tapped his son Brandon Lutnick as chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald and his son Kyle Lutnick as executive vice chairman. axios.link/4k9UoQT

Renewables made up 71% of new U.S. power generating capacity last year driven by surging solar installations, with battery projects hitting a record, per BloombergNEF's sustainable energy report.

Why it matters: For all the attention lavished on futuristic green technologies and legacy natural gas, the record buildout shows tried-and-true renewables are providing a near-term answer for surging electricity demand, Axios Pro's Alan Neuhauser writes.

The big picture: Few energy technologies are more boring than a solar panel array or a battery storage site.

Yes, but: These silent, stationary energy sources drove the bulk of new energy capacity, especially as utilities and tech companies entered a new era of demand largely driven by power-thirsty data centers and AI.