The NBA's private equity ownership rules may be tested by the upcoming Boston Celtics sale, in a way that could have repercussions for future transactions.

The big picture: Bill Chisholm, the club's presumptive new control owner, has committed less money to the two-part deal than has Sixth Street Partners, according to three sources.

• That is not allowed by the NBA, per regulations first established in 2021.
• Instead, a PE fund can have the lesser of 20% or below the percentage held by the control owner (who must hold a 15% minimum stake).

Behind the scenes: There seem to be two options for Chisholm, whose deal was announced before it was fully financed.

• One is that he pulls in so many new investors that Sixth Street's full check is no longer needed — and the firm allows itself to fall below Chisholm in the cap table. This remains possible, particularly if some existing minority owners roll over their stakes and/or some of the losing bidders join with Chisholm.
• The other is that Chisholm requests some sort of waiver from the league, guessing that other owners won't reject a deal with so high a price tag.
• Spokespeople for Chisholm's group, Sixth Street, and the NBA all declined comment.

The bottom line: Private equity firms not involved with the Celtics will pay very close attention to how this plays out.

• If Chisholm and Sixth Street do get a waiver, they'd be emboldened to try something similar — and maybe even believe there's legal precedent to do so.

Underdog, a Brooklyn-based fantasy sports and sports betting app, tells Axios that it raised $70 million in Series C funding at a $1.2 billion valuation from Spark Capital.

• This is the first close of a round that could total more than $100 million.

Why it's the BFD: Underdog co-founder and CEO Jeremy Levine sold prior startups to both DraftKings and the parent company of FanDuel, but recently told employees that he has no intention of "finishing third again."

• He argues that Underdog has built its own tech, unlike incumbents that relied on overseas platforms, which makes it more "fun" and approachable for U.S. users who haven't set foot in physical sportsbooks.

Catch up quick: Underdog now has raised $140 million since being founded in 2020. Existing backers include BlackRock, Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, SV Angel, Mark Cuban, and Kevin Durant.

• It mostly provides fantasy sports games, but now has sportsbook offerings in North Carolina and is preparing to expand them to Missouri.

The bottom line: The sports betting market may feel more saturated than it really is, based on the relatively small fraction of Super Bowl watchers who placed online wagers.

• Mercury, an SF-based banking fintech raised $300m at a $3.5b valuation, per the WSJ. Sequoia Capital led, and was joined by insider Coatue. axios.link/41Njtu5

• Island, a Dallas provider of secure enterprise browsers, raised $250m in Series E funding led by Coatue at a $4.8b post-money valuation. axios.link/424z4Ee

⚡ Type One Energy, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based developer of a stellarator fusion plant, is seeking to raise $200m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3FRKWlv

• Nexthop AI, a Santa Clara, Calif., developer of custom-built networking solutions for hyperscalers, raised $110m. Lightspeed Venture Partners led, and was joined by Kleiner Perkins, WestBridge Capital, Battery Ventures, and Emergent Ventures. axios.link/4hIcO9a

• Also, a micromobility skunkworks spun out of EV maker Rivian, raised $105m from Eclipse Ventures. axios.link/3QKCQh0

🚑 Epicrispr Biotechnologies, a South SF-based biotech focused on a neuromuscular disease called FSHD, raised $68m in a first close of its Series B funding from Ally Bridge Group and a philanthropy formed by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson. axios.link/3DTiiQs

• Good Good Golf, a Frisco, Texas-based golf media and lifestyle brand, raised $45m. Creator Sports Capital led, and was joined by Manhattan West Private Equity, Sunflower Bank, and Omaha Productions. axios.link/4j6vNeN

• Rogo AI, a New York-based provider of genAI for banking analysts, is raising $40m at up to a $350m valuation led by Thrive Capital with Khosla Ventures participating, per the Information. axios.link/4j4lSGA

🚑 Tribune Therapeutics, a Swedish developer of fibrosis treatments, raised €37m. LifeArc Ventures led, and was joined by Novo Holdings, HealthCap, and Industrifonden. axios.link/42cv7h8

🚑 Silna Health, a health insurance automation startup, raised $27m in seed and Series A funding co-led by Accel and Bain Capital Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4hNY3Sn

• Dyna Robotics, a Redwood City, Calif. robotics startup focused on tasks like folding and food preparation, raised $23.5m in seed funding co-led by CRV and First Round Capital. axios.link/4c2kiTf

• Brisk, an SF-based AI ed-tech startup, raised $15m. Bessemer Venture Partners led, and was joined by Owl Ventures, South Park Commons, and Springbank Collective. axios.link/4iA79TM

• Chronicle, an Ethereum oracle startup, raised $12m in seed funding led by Strobe (fka Blocktower Venture Capital), with participation from Brevan Howard and 6th Man Ventures. axios.link/4iHNgu6

• Paid, a business platform for AI agents, raised €10m in pre-seed funding from EQT Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and GTMFund. axios.link/4jmREyL

🌎 Topanga, an LA-based waste reduction startup, raised $8m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Blue Bear Capital led, and was joined by Struck Capital, Amasia and Wonder Ventures. axios.link/4j6lR4V

• SplxAI, an agentic AI security platform, raised $7m in seed funding. LAUNCHub Ventures led, and was joined by Rain Capital, Runtime Ventures, Inovo, DNV Ventures, and South Central Ventures. splx.ai

• Burbank, a Welsh card-present-over-internet payments startup, raised £5m in seed funding led by Mouro Capital, with backing from Anthemis and Portfolio Ventures. axios.link/4ccIsKL

• Rival, a U.K. 3D content platform, raised $4.2m led by Speedinvest. axios.link/4hJKaEv

🚑 Arlo, a health insurance underwriter for small businesses, raised $4m in seed funding led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from 8VC and General Catalyst. axios.link/4l4KpNq

• ConfigHub, a software configuration platform, raised $4m from Crane Venture Partners, Encoded Ventures, and Pear VC. axios.link/3Xv6SZT

• Lumi AI, a data analytics and insights platform for retailers and brands, raised $3.7m in seed funding led by AgFunder, per Axios Pro. axios.link/422T4HB

🚑 Differential Bio, a German biomanufacturing startup, raised €2m co-led by Ananda Impact Ventures and ReGen Ventures. axios.link/4c7t4PJ

• Ardonagh Group, a London-based insurance broker, is raising up to $2.5b in new funding, per Bloomberg. Existing backers include Stone Point Capital, Madison Dearborn Partners, HPS Investment Partners, and ADIA. axios.link/428kXOs

• Bain Capital agreed to acquire a majority stake in Namirial, an Italian transaction management software provider, from Ambienta for €1.1b. axios.link/4hNBM74

• Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management agreed to buy retailer Family Dollar for around $1b from Dollar Tree (Nasdaq: DLTR). axios.link/3QKti5E

• Heartland Growth Partners bought a majority stake in Victory Machine & Fabrication, a Sidney, Ohio-based provider of millwright and rigging, machining, and metal fabrication services. axios.link/424XJsA

• Nonantum Capital Partners acquiredf MSI Express, a Portage, Ind., food and beverage contract manufacturer and packaging firm, from HCI Equity Partners. msiexpress.com

• One Equity Partners agreed to acquire CraftMark Bakery, an Indianapolis provider of bakery products for quick-serve restaurants and in-store retail. craftmarkbakery.com

• PSG invested US$280m into Protecht Group, an Australian provider of governance, risk, and compliance solutions. protechtgroup.com

• Ridgeline Roofing, a portfolio company of Bertram Capital, acquired Brody Allen Exteriors, a St. Louis-based roofing services firm. ridgeline-roofing.com

• Tailwind Capital invested in Cloud for Good, a Salesforce consultant focused on high ed and nonprofits. cloud4good.com

⚡ TPG agreed to buy a 90% stake in Siemens Energy's India and Sri Lanka wind turbine business. axios.link/4l4vliS

StubHub last week filed for an IPO, and rewrote part of its history in the process.

• Chagee Holdings, a Chinese teahouse operator and franchisor, filed for a 100m IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (CHA). axios.link/4c5SE7S

• Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, said at the Axios What's Next Summit that his company has no imminent IPO plans. axios.link/41YbSHS

• Crusoe Energy, a Denver-based modular data center company valued by VCs at nearly $3b, sold its Bitcoin mining business to NYDIG. axios.link/43wFv5D

• Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq: DSGX) acquired 3GTMS, a Columbus, Ohio-based provider of transportation management solutions, from backers like Sumeru Equity Partners. axios.link/4hUX3vO

⚡ U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is divesting stakes in three private equity funds managed by CAZ Investments, with the process to be completed by April 1, per a White House memo.

• 9fin, a London-based analytics platform for debt capital markets, acquired London-based bond data provider Bond Radar. 9fin has raised over $80m from firms like Highland Europe and Spark Capital. 9fin.com

• Arthur J Gallagher (NYSE: AJG) acquired Litchfield Special Risks, an El Paso, Texas-based wholesale insurance broker. ajg.com

• AT&T (NYSE: T) is in talks to buy the consumer fiber business of Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN), which could fetch more than $5.5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3QKwONo

• Shaquille O'Neal bought a minority stake in Beatbox Beverages, an Austin, Texas-based ready-to-drink cocktail brand. axios.link/4j43HRb

• Warner Bros. Discovery (NYSE: WBD) is paying $57m for a minority stake in Dubai-based OSN Streaming. axios.link/422gkFA

• Amazon's Alexa Fund announced that it will expand its investment mandate beyond voice and smart devices, to also include areas like AI-enabled hardware, generative media, smart agents, and AI architectures.

• Pike Street Capital raised $199m for a single-asset continuation fund that will back Impel Co., a provider of fluid management systems focused on the water and wastewater treatment sectors. impelcompany.com

• Bernard Condon joined Arbor Investments as a divisional operating partner. He previously led Ornua's ingredients business. axios.link/3Y4wIEd

• Romeo Leemrijse is stepping down as head of private equity for Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund, per Buyouts. axios.link/3QLavap

• Aqil Pasha joined Jump Capital as a VP. He previously was with Venture Guides. axios.link/4j4fU8t