We recently discussed how private equity is backing away from new health care services deals, in part, due to increased political scrutiny.

• But what about deals that were done in sunnier times?

State of play: There are around 650 physician companies in private equity portfolios, according to PitchBook.

• This includes everything from primary care to specialized groups in areas like infusion, orthopedics and dental.
• It's a major increase from just a few years ago, but new additions have slowed to a trickle.
• The only thing slower is exits. A ton of these companies are in the midmarket, where liquidity often comes via sales to other private equity sponsors. And if private equity sponsors aren't buying...

The big picture: The most obvious buyers would be strategics, as Axios Pro's Claire Rychlewski wrote in yesterday's Health Tech Deals newsletter (to which you should subscribe).

• But that's easier said than done.
• For younger platforms, which have proliferated in areas like cardiology and gastroenterology, there might not yet be enough scale to attract big buyers.
• Many more mature platforms, including in dermatology and ophthalmology, seem to have assumed there would be so much PE interest that they didn't need to do the value maximization and strategic positioning work that's required for trade sales.

Thought bubble from Claire: "You also need to pay attention to retail's recent retrench from health care. Two years ago, private equity was focused on building platforms that would someday be attractive to Walgreens or Amazon or CVS, in addition to companies like United Healthcare."

• "Instead, those three have hit the brakes on health care delivery expansion. United, meanwhile, is under a lot more antitrust scrutiny and can scale itself without needing groups loaded with debt."

The bottom line: Don't be surprised if a lot of these assets get put into continuation funds, thus giving private equity more time to find takers. But there's no particular reason to believe that the prognosis will change, even with a few more years of runway.

Axel Springer of Germany reportedly is weighing a company split.

• Existing backers KKR and CPPIB would control its classifieds business, while CEO Mathias Döpfner would continue to control the media unit that includes the Bild newspaper, Politico and Business Insider.

Why it's the BFD: This would be the breakup of a major media conglomerate, four years after KKR and CPPIB helped take it private.

Look ahead: It also could pave the way for Döpfner to make additional acquisitions, such as if the FT or WSJ went up for sale, and for KKR to begin exiting the more profitable classifieds unit via an IPO.

The bottom line: "KKR and CPPIB, which together own 48.5% of Axel Springer, cannot make decisions without Döpfner because of his special governance rights. Döpfner holds about 22% of the equity but has voting rights equivalent to double this share." — The Financial Times

🚑 Headway, a New York-based behavioral therapist network, is raising $100m at a $2.3b valuation led by insider Spark Capital, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4faNpVE

• Hero Software, a German SaaS for trade businesses and workers, raised €40m in Series B funding. Eight Roads led, and was joined by insiders Cusp Capital and Federated Herme. axios.link/3VYK2Ip

• Vantem Global, a Greensboro, N.C., maker of energy-efficient modular homes, is raising $30m in Series C funding, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4czDTcF

• Arya.ag, an Indian ag warehousing company, raised $29m in co-led by Blue Earth Capital and Quona Capital. axios.link/461G6es

• Exein, an Italian IoT cybersecurity startup, raised €15m in Series B funding led by 3NN. axios.link/4687fg8

• Soda, a New York-based data quality platform, raised $14m from Singular and Point Nines. axios.link/3XZyxD5

• Alma, an immigration-focused legal startup, raised $5.1m from Bling Capital, Forerunner, Village Global, NFX, Conviction, MVP, NEA, and Silkroad Innovation Hub. axios.link/3XUZ9W5

• Jacobi Robotics, a software dev platform for industrial robot arms, raised $5m in seed funding. Moxxie Ventures led, and was joined by Foothill Ventures, Humba Ventures, The House Fund, Swift Ventures, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, and LDV Partners. axios.link/3xR9asK

⚡ Arkion (fka Skygraft), a Swedish grid inspection startup, raised $4m. Subvenio Invest led, and was joined by insiders Neptunia Invest and Antler. axios.link/3W8yK4G

🍎 Aurea Imaging, a Dutch provider of sensor tech for orchards, raised €2.8m in Series A funding led by Pymwymic. axios.link/3WgnOCZ

🏈 NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed to CNBC that the league is considering a proposal that would allow up to 10% private equity ownership of teams, and that the cap could rise over time.

• China Merchants Capital and KKR each are weighing bids for Hong Kong-based pallet maker Loscam, which could fetch upwards of $2.5b, per Bloomberg. Loscam backers include China Merchants Group, Fountainvest Partners, and Trustar Capital. axios.link/3Y0WDxt

⚡ Global Infrastructure Partners and Stonepeak are among the bidders for Singapore Power's 40% stake in Australian power group Jemena, which could fetch an enterprise value over US$10b, per Reuters. axios.link/3zOq4Zp

• Insurcomm, a portfolio company of Summit Partners, acquired Soil-Away Restoration Services, a Hooksett, N.H., disaster restoration company. insurcomm.com

• Long Ridge Equity Partners invested over £100m into QX Global Group, a U.K. provider of business process management services. qxglobalgroup.com

• Madison River Capital invested $70m into JDC Power Systems, an Armonk, N.Y., electrical systems integrator for the data center market. JDC also completed a $190m recap. axios.link/3zMw58W

🚑 Med Learning Group, a portfolio company of DW Healthcare, acquired Talem Health, a Trumbull, Conn., health education company. medlearninggroup.com

• Thrive, a Foxborough, Mass., managed IT services firm backed by Court Square Capital and M/C Partners, acquired Greensboro, N.C.-based Longleaf Network. thrivenextgen.com

• Upwell Water, an SF water infrastructure company, raised $100m from Climate Adaptive Infrastructure. climateadaptiveinfra.com

• Canal+, the French media and telecom group owned by Videndi, is considering a London IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3zFElb3

🚑 Launch One Acquisition, a health care SPAC chaired by Ryan Gilbert (Launchpad Capital), raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/4cnozQb

• SoftBank (Tokyo: 9984) agreed to buy Graphcore, a British chipmaker once valued at $2.8b but believed to have sold for much less. Backers included Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Mayfair Equity Partners, Polyvalent Capital, DCVC, Molten Ventures, M&G, Ontario Baillie Gifford, Fidelity International, and Schroders. axios.link/3xJ4y85

• Chicken Soup for the Soul converted its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding and will liquidate its assets, including Redbox. axios.link/3zARzWz

⚡ Engie (Paris: ENGI) and Canadian pension CDPQ partnered on a takeover offer for Electricity North West, a U.K. power network that could be valued at over 4b, per Reuters. Spanish utility Iberdrola (Madrid: IBE) also is expected to bid. axios.link/3xWz2Dr

• F1 Arcade, an F1 experiential hospitality brand, raised $130m in debt financing from Cheyne Capital, Liberty Media, Permira Credit, and OakNorth. f1arcade.com

• Marketplace Events, a Salon, Ohio-based home and garden show operator taken over by lenders in 2020, is seeking a buyer, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3S42aQ3

• Penguin Random House agreed to acquire comic boom publisher Boom! Studios from backers like Walt Disney Co. axios.link/3Wj6H3N

🚑 Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) agreed to acquire select assets of OhioHealth's outreach lab services business. questdiagnostics.com

🚑 Sanford Health, the U.S.'s largest rural health system, announced plans to merge with Marshfield Clinic Health System, creating a 56-hospital, $10b revenue nonprofit. axios.link/4eWyu14

• August Equity, a London PE firm, is raising around $311m for its sixth fund, per an SEC filing.

• DFJ Growth raised over $1b for its fifth fund, beating its $800m target, per SEC filings.

• Intermediate Capital Group of London is targetng €2b for its second midmarket Europe fund, with a €2.5b hard cap, per a public pension document.

• Trill Impact of Sweden raised over €90m for its debut VC fund. www.trillimpact.com

• UP.Partners of Santa Monica, Calif., is targeting $230m for its second VC fund focused on mobility startups. axios.link/4cVROK5

• Stefani Silverstein is leaving Goldman Sachs to join Jefferies as a tech M&A banker, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3W03uVh

• Star Mountain Capital said senior advisor Curtis Glover, formerly with Fortress Investment Group, will become a fulltime managing director and strategic portfolio officer. starmountaincapital.com

• Beyond Capital Ventures promoted Nicholas Java to partner. axios.link/4f14VLH

It's beginning to look a lot like rate cuts. This quarter.

• Yesterday's cool inflation — I'm sorry, deflation — report caused CME Fed Futures to spike, with the U.S. now in the sort of Goldilocks economy that Jay Powell has been seeking.