A second U.S. senator has warned the Treasury Department against a $1.9 billion deal involving the sale of a U.S. ammunition business to a Czech arms dealer, reports my Axios Pro colleague Michael Flaherty.

Why it matters: Growing opposition to Vista Outdoor's ammo unit deal with the Czechoslovakian Group (CSG) could lead to the sale being blocked.

Zoom in: Sen. John Kennedy's (R-La) letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen late on Tuesday accused CSG of having business ties to China, and raised the concern of a foreign owner controlling the supply and production of primers, an ammunition propellant.

• The division makes ammo and related components that it sells to gun owners, hunters, and U.S. state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Army.
• CSG has publicly said that it has no ties with U.S. adversaries.

Flashback: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) issued a letter in January that urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, housed in the Treasury Department, to reject the CSG deal.

• Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, has voiced similar concerns, and a U.S. sheriffs' group added to the chorus of opposition this week.

Catch up quick: Vista Outdoor's two main businesses are the ammo unit and Outdoor Products, which makes gear such as CamelBak water packs and Camp Chef stoves.

• The company initially planned to spin off the two businesses, but before the spinoff could happen, CSG moved to acquire the ammo business.

The intrigue: Vista's effort to complete the CSG deal comes as MNC Capital, a private investment group, is vying to buy both businesses for $3 billion.

• MNC is a family office run by Mark Gottfredson, who previously sat on Vista Outdoors' board. MNC's offer came in after the CSG deal was signed.

What they're saying: "Several of our companies hold top NATO security clearances and we work with U.S. defense companies. This would not be possible if we did business with U.S. adversaries such as Russia or China," CSG said in letters to both Vance and the sheriffs group.

• It points to its majority ownership of ammunition maker Fiocci as an example of its success operating in the U.S. That deal was granted CFIUS approval.

What we're watching: Vista voluntarily withdrew its initial filing to CFIUS and refiled its CSG agreement notice to the committee on March 28, giving the government agency more time to conduct its review.

• That typically kicks off another 45-day review period, which can be extended to 60 days.
• That timing lines up with Vista's May 16 shareholder vote on the CSG agreement, a vote that hinges on the CFIUS decision.

The FTC is reportedly considering a move to block Tapestry's $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings, according to the New York Times.

Why it's the BFD: The merger aims to bring together a slew of top luxury brands, including Kate Spade, Coach, Versace, and Michael Kors.

Details: The commission is expected to meet next week to discuss the case, potentially moving forward to a formal vote.

• Meanwhile, while Capri's shares have plunged more than 20% this year since the takeover's announcement, Tapestry's have risen 6%.

The bottom line: "Monopoly cases in the fashion industry are rare, because there is no shortage of new labels looking to undercut legacy brands. 'It is the paradigmatic part of the economy where there is ample competition,' said Howard Hogan, the chair of the fashion, retail and consumer practice at the law firm Gibson Dunn." — Lauren Hirsch, NYT

• Rippling, an S.F.-based employee onboarding tech startup, is raising $200m in new funding led by Coatue, with $670m in a secondary sale, with Founders Fund and Greenoaks also participating, per TechCrunch. axios.link/441PtKg

• Iceye, a Finnish satellite startup, raised $93m in new funding led by Solidium, with Move Capital Fund I1, Blackwells Capital, Christo Georgiev, and existing investors also participating. iceye.com

• Mistral, a French large language model startup, is raising new funding at a $5b valuation, per The Information. axios.link/3xCG4wG

• Upstage, a San Jose, Calif.-based document processing AI startup, raised $72m in Series B funding from Korea Development Bank, Shinhan Venture Investment, Hana Ventures, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, IBK Securities, SBVA, Primer Sazze, Company K Partners, and Premier Partners. axios.link/3VZwez2

🚑 Kontakt.io, a N.Y.-based hospital indoor tracking startup, raised $47.5m from Goldman Sachs. axios.link/4aYyn28

• Flatpay, a Danish SMB payments startup, raised €45m ($47m) in funding led by Dawn Capital. axios.link/3JoBnJm

🌎 Eocycle Technologies, a Canadian wind turbine company, raised $20m in funding led by Export Development Canada, with Fonds de Solidarité FTQ also participating. eocycle.com

• Bridgewise, a U.K.-based financial markets translation startup, raised $21m in funding led by SIX Group, with Group11 and L4 Venture Builder also participating. axios.link/49KJYAW

• Cynomi, an Israeli SMB cybersecurity startup, raised $20m in funding led by Canaan, with Flint Capital, s16vc, and Aloniq also participating. axios.link/3UjXfMe

• Crypto Valley Exchange, a Swiss decentralized crypto startup, raised $7m in funding led by Fabric Ventures and Kyber Capital Crypto Fund, with AMDAX, Wave Digital, Funfair Ventures, Seier Capital Family Office, Five T Group, and Saxon also participating. axios.link/3xCWrt3

• Loft Labs, an S.F.-based Kubernetes startup, raised $24m in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures, with Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, Emergent Ventures, Fusion Fund, and Surface Ventures also participating. axios.link/3TZ7HHP

• BreachRx, an S.F.-based enterprise security incident response software startup, raised $6.5m in seed funding led by SYN Ventures, with Overline also participating. axios.link/3W1jPL9

🚑 LunaJoy Health, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based women's mental health care startup, raised $4.2m in funding from Y Combinator, FoundersX Fund, Goodwater Capital, Magic Fund, VentureSouq, Nurture Ventures, and NorthSouth Ventures. axios.link/4431D5I

• The Folklore, a N.Y.-based B2B fashion marketplace, raised $3.4m in seed funding led by Benchstrength, with Slauson & Co, Techstars, and Black Tech Nation Ventures also participating. axios.link/3xOvx1l

• Claimscore, a Pompton Lakes, N.J.-based class action fraud detection startup, raised $3.2m in seed funding led by ROC Venture Group. axios.link/4d1Cv3b

🚑 Ilant Health, a N.Y.-based weight management startup, raised $2.5m in additional seed funding from LifeX Ventures, Celtic House Asia Partners, and Cornucopian Capital, and existing investors. axios.link/4aCA1XE

• All Seas Capital invested in Reducate EdTech Group, a Dutch online continuing professional education company. reducate.com

⛽️ Bernhard Capital Partners' dedicated Energy Department services unit acquired Strategic Management Solutions, an Albuquerque, N.M.-based provider of expert management and technical consulting services. smsi.us

• Data Clean Corporation, backed by Angeles Equity Partners, acquired DC Canada, a Canadian provider of decontamination services focused on data centers. dataclean.com

🌎 Foss Recycling acquired the scrap metal recycling unit of Wall Recycling, a Raleigh, N.C.-based waste and recycling company backed by Allied Industrial Partners. alliedindustrialpartners.com

• Gen II acquired Crestbridge, a U.K.-based provider of capital fund administration services. gen2fund.com

• PestCo Holdings, backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners, acquired Sasquatch Pest Control, an Oregon-based provider of residential pest control services. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. sasquatchhatespests.com

• Games Global, an Isle of Man-based developer and distributor of online casino-style games, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the NYSE as GGL. J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Macquarie Capital, and Barclays are the joint bookrunners on the deal. axios.link/3Q6WLH7

• Loar Holdings, a White Plains, N.Y.-based aerospace and defense components maker, plans to raise $275m by offering 11m shares priced between $24 to $26. At the midpoint, it would command a market cap of $2.2b. axios.link/3VXwrCX

• iLearningEngines, a Bethesda, Md.-based provider of learning automation and information tech, completed its merger with Arrowroot Acquisition, and will begin trading on the Nasdaq today. ilearningengines.com

⛽️ Abu Dhabi National Energy Company confirmed it's in talks with shareholders to potentially acquire Naturgy, a Spanish energy company. axios.link/3Q5lH1y

• Armis acquired Silk Security, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based cyber risk prioritization and remediation company, for $150m. silk.security

• BeyondTrust is acquiring Entitle, an Israeli access management startup, for $100m to $150m in cash and stock, per CTech. axios.link/4aBi9Mx

• DZS (Nasdaq: DZSI) sold its Asia operations to Dasan Networks, a Korean network solutions provider. dasans.com

• The Futurum Group agreed to acquire TechStrong Group, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based media company for tech business lead generation, for a mix of cash and stock. axios.link/3xJ6xc8

• State Street is in talks to potentially acquire Societe Generale Securities Services, whose parent company is seeking €1b ($1.1b) for the business, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3QtEoML

🌎 Bay Bridge Ventures, a Berkeley, Calif.-based ESG investment firm, is raising $200m for its first fund. axios.link/3Q7BtZT

🌎 Chevron has committed $500m for a third clean tech venture fund. axios.link/444mRA5

• Evolution Equity Partners, a N.Y.-based cybersecurity growth equity firm, raised $1.1b for its third fund. axios.link/3U0IbSv

• Maven Ventures, an S.F.-based consumer seed-stage venture firm, raised $60m for its fourth fund. mavenventures.com

🌎 Wellington Management raised $385m for for its first private fund focused on climate investments. axios.link/4aJiAEY

• Next47 hired Vivian Cheng as a partner. She was previously a principal at CRV. next47.com

• Verlinvest hired Sebastien Katch as managing director in operations. He was previously COO at RealTruck. verlinvest.com

• Volition Capital hired Pete Lamson as chief operating officer and head of portfolio operations. He was previously CEO of Employ. volitioncapital.com

PE acquisitions in the U.S. totaled $122 billion in Q1 of this year, up 43% year-over-year from $85.4 billion, per new KPMG data.

Yes, but: It's still only almost half of the $230 billion seen in Q1 of 2022.