"Stop writing about politics. I signed up for a business newsletter."

• I get that message, sometimes a lot of them, when this space's eyes wander toward Washington, D.C.
• Years ago, it might have been a valid critique. Today, though, the line between business and politics has all but vanished.

First and foremost: The reconciliation debate is really about restructuring the entire American economy, and about funding those changes. It could be a massive externality for how investments perform, what investments are available and how investors get paid.

• Within this, the status quo on carried interest taxation is facing its most serious challenge in over a decade.

Antitrust: The Biden administration is painting with a very wide brush, arguing that corporate consolidation drives up consumer prices and drives down wages.

• Within Big Tech, which has received the bulk of media attention on antitrust, the FTC is now taking a harder look at small acquisitions; a development that could create sell-side headaches.
• And none of this touches on trade policy with countries like China, which can bleed over into antitrust issues for U.S. companies seeking to do cross-border M&A.

F Street: New SEC commissioner Gary Gensler wants to tighten oversight of everything from crypto to SPACs to private investment funds.

• If you don't think this really matters, take a look at crypto investor meltdowns on Twitter during Gensler's congressional testimony earlier this week.

Surface scratching: Add in everything from pandemic rules to labor availability (including immigration). And that's just at the federal level.

The bottom line: This isn't about supporting or opposing particular policies or politicians. It's just about paying close attention, because the alternative is to skirt due diligence.

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) won a shareholder vote to take control of British asthma inhaler maker Vectura Group (LSE: VEC) for £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion), having previously outbid The Carlyle Group.

• Why it's the BFD: The world's largest maker of cigarettes, a major contributor to respiratory disease, will now make products that treat respiratory disease. Some health advocates have asked Britain's competition authority to intervene, asking it to consider what they refer to as "monopolies of harm."

• Bonus: Carlyle, whose European health deals are led by a former GlaxoSmithKline exec, had kept its lower-priced offer on the table, hoping that shareholders wouldn't approve the sale.
• Bottom line: "Philip Morris, whose name has long been associated with Marlboro, the world's best-selling cigarette brand, says the deal is part of its plan to diversify its portfolio beyond tobacco and nicotine, with an emphasis on 'inhaled therapeutics.'" — Bill Chappell, NPR

• Whatnot, a livestreaming shopping platform for collectibles like Funko POPs, raised $150 million in Series C funding from CapitalG and insiders Andreessen Horowitz and YC Continuity. http://axios.link/FvQ0

• Grailed, a curated menswear resale site, raised $60 million. GOAT led, and was joined by insiders Thrive Capital, Index Ventures and Groupe Artémis. http://axios.link/E7ax

• Mynd, an Oakland-based real estate investing platform, raised $57.3 million led by QED Investors. http://axios.link/lwi9

• EGYM, a Munich-based connected fitness equipment company, raised $41 million in Series E funding from Mayfair Equity Partners. www.egym.com

🚑 Elevian, a Boston-based biotech focused on stroke recovery and age-related disease, raised $40 million in Series A funding led by Prime Movers Lab. www.elevian.com

• Tyk, a London-based enterprise API management startup, raised $35 million. Scottish Equity Partners led, and was joined by MMC Ventures. http://axios.link/C1gf

• Ketch, an SF-based online privacy regulation and data compliance startup, raised $23 million in Series A funding. Acrew Capital led, and was joined by CRV, super[set], Ridge Ventures and SVB. http://axios.link/tk5J

• Roboflow, a Des Moines, Iowa-based computer vision tool, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Craft Ventures. www.roboflow.com

• Kolide, a Somerville, Mass.-based endpoint security platform, raised $17 million in Series B funding. OpenView Partners led, and was joined by Matrix Partners. http://axios.link/g5fY

• GigaIO, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based developer of high-speed interconnectivity hardware, raised $14.7 million led by Impact Partners. http://axios.link/AFwK

• Fiberplane, an Amsterdam-based developer of collaborative notebooks for site reliability engineers, raised €7.5 million in seed funding. Crane Venture Partners and Notion Capital co-led, and were joined by Northzone, System.One and Basecase Capital. http://axios.link/wFt8

• Sequin, a women-focused credit card, raised $5.7 million in seed funding from Matrix Partners, YC, Scribble Ventures, IDEO, Thomvest, Commerce VC and Carrie Schwab. http://axios.link/PLD3

• OnLoop, a performance review startup, raised $5.5 million co-led by MassMutual Ventures and SquarePeg Ventures. http://axios.link/R98f

• Aircover, a real-time sales intelligence platform, raised $3 million in seed funding. Defy Partners led, and was joined by Firebolt Ventures, Flex Capital and Ridge Ventures. http://axios.link/Ch2p

🚑 Journey Clinical, a New York-based psychedelics startup, raised $3 million in seed funding led by Fifty Years. http://axios.link/THL5

• EQT walked away from its US$2.3 billion effort to buy Iress (ASX: IRE), an Australian financial services software provider, after three failed bids. http://axios.link/N62r

• HighBar Partners acquired SilkRoad Technology, a Chicago-based employee satisfaction and productivity platform. www.silkroadtechnology.com

• S4 Capital, led by WPP founder Martin Sorrell, agreed to buy Zemogo, a New York-based digital consultancy. http://axios.link/I04W

• Signpost, a New York-based portfolio company of HighBar Partners, acquired Securus Contact Systems, a Portland, Ore.-based live chat and receptionist service platform. www.signpost.com

• IHS Holding, a London-based telecom tower operator focused on emerging markets, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise up to $1.5 billion. It plans to trade on the NYSE (IHS) and reports $76 million of net income on $764 million in revenue for the first half of 2021. Backers include Wendel Group and Emerging Capital Partners. http://axios.link/jYvn

• Keter Group, a Luxembourg-based home furnishings company owned by BC Partners, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $400 million. It plans to list on the NYSE (KETR). http://axios.link/vyMw

• Scientific Games (Nasdaq: SGMS), a Las Vegas-based slot machine maker, plans to list its lotteries unit in Australia, per Reuters. http://axios.link/BMt4

• 6sense, an SF-based predictive intelligence platform valued by VCs at over $2 billion, bought Fortella, a Redwood City, Calif.-based pipeline intelligence company that had raised around $7 million from firms like Recruit Strategic Partners, Uncorrelated Ventures and TiE Silicon Valley. www.6sense.com

🚑 ADQ agreed to buy Swiss pharma company Acino from Avista Capital and Nordic Capital. www.acino.swiss

• Dometic (Swiss: DOM), agreed to buy Igloo, a Katy, Texas-based cooler maker, for $677 million. Sellers include ACON Investments, Hauser Private Equity and JZ Capital Partners. http://axios.link/e59p

• Finsbury Glover Hering is in talks to buy rival financials comms and PR firm Sard Verbinnen, per the FT. http://axios.link/QUbx

🚑 Grifols (Madrid: GRF), a Spanish drug company, offered to buy German rival Biotest (ETR: BIO) for €1.6 billion. http://axios.link/m7MZ

• Invesco (YSE: IVZ) is in talks to merge with State Street’s (NYSE: STT) asset management unit, per Reuters. http://axios.link/3atT

• Mitsubishi UFJ (Tokyo: 8306) is considering a sale of its U.S. banking unit, UFG Union Bank, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/kYwQ

• BC Partners is nearing a $1 billion final close for its second credit opportunities fund, per Buyouts. http://axios.link/zHVP

• Percheron Capital, a PE firm led by ex-Golden Gate Capital investors Chris Collins and Chris Lawler, raised $770 million for its debut fund. http://axios.link/3kzQ

• Warburg Pincus plans to target $16 billion for its 14th global private equity fund, its largest ever, per Reuters. http://axios.link/dWCr’

• Jamie McGurk joined BAM Elevate, the private investment arm of Balyasny Asset Management, as a general partner. He previously was a managing partner of private investments at Coatue. www.bamfunds.com

U.S. M&A activity is up 153% year-over-year, hitting $1.88 trillion, per Refinitiv. But some other large countries have larger percentage gains:

• Australia: +528% to $165 billion
• Canada: +269% to $101 billion
• U.K.: +223% to $343 billion