BlackRock has spent big this year on expanding its private equity business, whether that be through acquisitions or partnerships.

• But now it's winding down one of its first forays into the asset class.

Driving the news: BlackRock will not raise a second fund under the Long Term Private Capital banner, despite having already been in market and securing at least $300 million in commitments.

• Its 19-person investment team instead will be charged with winding down the $4.3 billion debut fund, with hopes that carried interest and other incentives will convince them to stick around.

Why it matters: This shows that even the biggest brands, such as the $10 trillion ETF king, can be hit hard by LP distribution demands.

Catch up quick: BlackRock launched LTPC in 2018, hiring PSP Investments CEO Andre Bourbonnais to lead a program focused on midmarket companies and long hold periods.

• The original idea was to raise more than $10 billion via an evergreen structure, including from some of BlackRock's institutional clients, but instead it switched to a more conventional GP/LP model and closed on the $4.3 billion in 2019.
• LTPC's initial transaction was a large minority investment in Authentic Brands, but most of its deals were leveraged buyouts of companies like Creed Fragrances, Summit Cos., and Paradigm Oral Surgery. Its most recent was an early 2023 purchase of insurance claims management firm Alacrity Solutions.

Zoom in: Many of the deals have been winners (e.g., Creed selling to Kering for $3.83 billion), but the paper multiples continued to be much more impressive than the actual distributions, according to a public pension report through June 30, 2024:

• Net IRR: 33%
• Net MOIC: 2.4x
• Net DPI: 0.6x

Behind the scenes: When BlackRock went back to market, LPs basically said to focus on returning money rather than raising money.

• The firm declined comment when contacted by Axios.

The bottom line: Scaling sometimes includes shutdowns.

Inversion, a developer of space-based cargo delivery, tells Axios that it has raised $44 million in Series A funding co-led by Spark Capital and Adjacent.

Why it's the BFD: This could provide near-instant delivery of medicines and other emergency supplies to anywhere on Earth within an hour. Same goes for military cargo like drones.

How it works: Inversion is developing small spacecraft (4 feet x 8 feet) that can store cargo in space for up to five years. The vehicles have targeted reentry capabilities, thus letting them "glide" the cargo to the ground destination.

• "There are times like natural disasters and some national security situations in which you need the thing at the location immediately," Inversion Space CEO Justin Fiaschetti explains. "You can prepare for that need maybe even years in advance, but not for the time or place."

Other investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and Y Combinator.

The bottom line: This is one of several orbital ideas that's been made more plausible by major reductions in launch costs.

• Cyera, an Israeli cloud data security company, raised $300m in Series D funding at a $3b valuation. Accel and Sapphire Ventures co-led, and were joined by Sequoia Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Coatue, and Georgian. axios.link/3V4brZR

🚑 Ōura, a Finnish maker of sleep rings and other wearables, raised $75m from Dexcom (Nasdaq: DXCM) at a $5b valuation. axios.link/3Z11sWk

• Spectro Cloud, a San Jose, Calif.-based Kubernetes management startup, raised $75m in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives. axios.link/4fQnr9g

• Tekever, a Lisbon, Portugal, drone-maker focused on "intelligence-as-a-service," raised €70m co-led by Baillie Gifford and the NATO Innovation Fund co-led, and were joined by the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Crescent Cove Advisors, Iberis Semper, and Cedrus Capital. axios.link/4eDLDuw

🚑 Zarminali Health, a pediatric health startup, raised $40m in seed funding from General Catalyst, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4fWlKr6

• KoRo, a German maker of natural snacks, raised $35m in Series C funding. Coefficient Capital led, and was joined by insiders Five Seasons Ventures, HV Capital, Partech, Haub Legacy, and SevenVentures. axios.link/3YRQ8vI

• OneChronos, a dark-pool trading startup, raised $32m from Addition, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4hYUPwn

• Lightyear, a New York-based network procurement startup, raised $31m in Series B funding. Altos Ventures led, and was joined by Ridge Ventures, Zigg Capital, Susa Ventures, and Amplo. axios.link/491YC87

🚑 Synapticure, a Chicago-based virtual care company for patients and caregivers living with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, raised $25m in Series A funding. B Capital led, and was joined by CommonSpirit Health, CVS Health Ventures, RA Capital Management, Nexus NeuroTech Ventures and insiders GV, Optum Ventures, and Rock Health Capital. axios.link/3YYK84s

🚑 Zenflow, an SF-based developer of a minimally invasive device for benign prostatic hyperplasia, raised $24m in Series C funding. Cook Medical led, and was joined by Invus Opportunities, F-Prime Capital, and Medical Technology Venture Partners. zenflow.com

• Revv, a provider of B2B SaaS for the auto repair market, raised $20m from Left Lane Capital. revvhq.com

🍓 Oishii, a Jersey City, N.J.-based vertical grower of strawberries and tomatoes, raised $16m in Series B extension funding (round total now $150m) led by Resilience Reserve. axios.link/3CwmGnq

• BrightAI, a provider of physical infrastructure monitoring solutions, raised $15m in seed funding from Upfront Ventures. axios.link/3ARniDM

🚑 Ladder, a virtual strength training startup, raised $15m in Series B funding co-led by Point72 Ventures and ADvantage VC. It also secured $90m from General Catalyst's "Customer Value" program. axios.link/3Z0TXyy

• Noble, an asset issuance platform for stablecoins, raised $15m in Series A funding led by Paradigm. axios.link/3CMHoiU

• Agentio, a New York-based creator marketplace startup, raised $12m in Series A funding. Benchmark led, and was joined by Craft Ventures and AlleyCorp. axios.link/40Wy7iq

🌏 Aquaria, an atmospheric water generation startup, raised $12m from Mistletoe, per Axios Pro. It also secured $100m in debt. axios.link/40UK1t6

• Twine, a developer of cybersecurity-focused AI agents, raised $12m co-led by Ten Eleven Ventures and Dell Technologies Capital. axios.link/4eHia2V

• OceanWell, a developer of deep-sea water farms, raised $11m in Series A funding from Kubota Corp., Charles McGarraugh (ex-Goldman Sachs metals trader) and the family office of Jon Hemingway (Carrix Ports). oceanwellwater.com

• Locad, a Singaporean provider of logistics solutions for e-commerce, raised $9m. Global Ventures and insider Reefknot Investments co-led, and were joined by Sumitomo Equity Ventures, Antler Elevate, Febe Ventures, and JG Summit. golocad.com

🚑 Jimini Health, a New York-based mental health care platform, raised $8m in pre-seed funding from Zetta Venture Partners, LionBird and PsyMed. axios.link/4fqlfpf

🚑 World Class Health, a concierge health benefit for employers, raised $8m in seed funding led by AlleyCorp, per Axios Pro. axios.link/40WFQ0a

• Apideck, a Belgian API platform, raised $7.5m in Series A funding led by Airbridge Equity Partners. axios.link/3AQOItl

• Rise, a startup allowing companies to pay contractors using stablecoins, raised $6.3m in Series A funding co-led by Draper and Polymorphic, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4920Vby

🚑 ThoroughCare, a Pittsburgh-based care coordination company, raised $5m in Series A funding led by Empactful Capital. thoroughcare.net

• Taito.ai, a Finnish performance enablement platform, raised $2.7m in seed funding led by Accel. axios.link/40X0woK

• Theo.ai, a Palo Alto-based predictive AI platform for litigation, raised $2.2m in pre-seed funding. NextView and nvp capital co-led, and were joined by Ripple Ventures, Beat Ventures, and SCVC Fund. theoai.ai

• GetMyHome, a Redondo Beach, Calif., homebuying tech startup, raised $1.5m in pre-seed funding from Wischoff Ventures and Progression Fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3V3ygNs

⚡ Audax Private Equity acquired Total PowerGen Solutions, a Canadian provider of provider of commercial and industrial power generation solutions, from Trivest Partners. tpgs.ca

• Celcoin, a Brazilian portfolio company of Summit Partners, acquired CobranSaaS, a Brazilian provider of loan and debt collection management solutions. celcoin.com.br

• Celero Commerce, a Brentwood, Tenn.-based fintech backed by Equus Holdings and LLR Partners, acquired Sarasota, Fla.-based SME payments firm Precision Payments. axios.link/4eD6cY9

• L Catterton invested in WeVets, a Brazilian veterinary hospital group. axios.link/3UYPkUS

• Morgan Stanley Capital Partners acquired FoodScience, a Williston, Vt.-based provider of pet and human nutritional supplements, from Wind Point Partners. foodsciencecorp.com

• Oakley Capital invested in Konzept & Marketing, a German managing general agent for personal non-life insurance. axios.link/3YXEjEf

• PSG Equity and Golub Capital agreed to acquire a minority stake in LogicMonitor, an IT infrastructure monitoring firm owned by Vista Equity Partners, for around $800m in equity and debt. axios.link/3V06jGc

🚑 Safecor, a portfolio company of Vesey Street Capital Partners, acquired the U.S. unit-dose packaging business of Viatris (Nasdaq: VTRS). safecorhealth.com

• Shamrock Capital invested in De-Yan, an experiential design studio. de-yan.com

🚑 Shore Capital Partners recapitalized existing portfolio company Point C, a third-party administrator of medical benefits for self-insured employers. pointchealth.com

• TA Associates invested in Certinia, an Austin, Texas-based provider of professional services automation and customer success solutions. Haveli Investments retains a majority stake, while others backers include General Atlantic and Salesforce Ventures. certinia.com

• Bronze, a London-based AI music startup, acquired Chroma, an SF-based embedding database for generative AI that had raised $18m from backers like Quiet Capital, Biz Stone, and Evan Sharp. axios.link/4fAJcKH

• Highlander Partners sold McIntosh Group, owner of luxury audio brands McIntosh and Sonus faber, to Bose Corp. axios.link/3YXBWBn

⚡ DT Midstream (NYSE: DTM) is paying $1.2b in cash to buy three natural gas pipelines from ONEOK (NYSE: OKE). axios.link/4fC59c6

• Modulr, a British embedded payments platform, acquired Nook, a London-based accounts payable vendor. Modulr had raised over $200m from investors like PayPal Ventures, Hive Learning, Connection Capital, Frog Capital, and Highland Europe. axios.link/3Ogqig8

• Paxos, a New York-based stablecoin issuer valued by VCs at $2.4b, agreed to buy Membrane Finance, a Finnish electronic money institution backed by Maki.vc. axios.link/3CtCO9d

• Bling Capital raised $270m for its fourth flagship VC fund. axios.link/3OiF1Hm

🌏 Extantia Capital of Germany raised €204m for a fund that will back early-stage climate startups, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4fT7eQK

• Jadwa Investment, a Saudi PE firm, raised around $266m for a new fund. axios.link/3OhlneQ

🚑 Jupiter Bioventures, a cancer biotech-focused VC firm, raised $70m for its debut fund. It's led by serial biotech entrepreneur Ned David and former acting FDA commissioner Ned Sharpless. axios.link/4fRHc0a

• President-elect Trump will nominate Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as U.S. Commerce Secretary.

• This takes Lutnick out of the running for Treasury, where Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) is emerging as a serious candidate.
• Hagerty has some private equity background, having once worked at Trident Capital before launching his own firm called Hagerty, Peterson & Co. He also had affiliation with Hall Capital.
• Other Treasury possibilities still include Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, and hedge fund manager Scott Bessent (who may be in line for National Economic Council).

🚑 John Maraganore, former CEO of Alnylam Pharma, joined Jefferies as a senior adviser. axios.link/3YWlJwf

• Ray Schrock is in talks to step down as a top restructuring lawyer at Weil Gotshal & Manges, in order to join rival law firm Latham & Watkins, per the WSJ. axios.link/4fXu7Cu

• Frank Verdecanna, former Mandiant CFO, joined cybersecurity-focused Ballistic Ventures as a strategic financial adviser. axios.link/4953r0v

Comcast confirmed this morning that it will launch a tax-free spinoff of its NBCUniversal cable networks and other select digital assets.

• Included brands include: USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, Golf Channel, Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.
• As we wrote recently, this is one of America's largest cable TV providers cutting its own cord, in part to focus more on streaming.