Rivals are seeking to derail the $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, which would create the first U.S. carrier running coast-to-coast, Axios Pro's Colin Campbell reports.

Driving the news: BNSF last week said it will ask the Surface Transportation Board for access to 824 miles of trackage from Chicago to Harrisburg and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

• CPKC and CSX, meanwhile, want access to trackager between Kansas City to St. Louis — arguing that Union Pacific's recent deal with Canadian National doesn't go far enough to restore competition.

The big picture: Union Pacific said in May that it would walk away from the merger if the STB grants such remedies, which would require it to pay a $2.5 billion breakup fee to Norfolk Southern.

• And that's no small thing, given that Union Pacific reported having only $2.11 billion of cash and cash equivalents as of June 30.

Catch up quick: The deal was announced in July 2025 and is scheduled to close by early 2028.

Zoom in: None of the access asks are a surprise, nor are they guaranteed regulatory approval. It's also unclear if they're mostly about adding trackage or just backdoor efforts to scuttle the merger.

• But they could put the STB in a bit of a political bind, given that Union Pacific has donated to the White House ballroom project.
• The STB could approve both the access requests and the merger, hoping that Trump isn't digging too deep into the weeds (i.e., merger approval = good).
• But if Union Pacific complains to the administration, let alone follows through on its threat to bail, then there could be blowback.

Look ahead: The formal access asks are due by mid-November, with the STB expected to rule sometime next year.

Siguler Guff & Co. has raised more than $3 billion for its sixth small-cap buyout fund.

Why it's the BFD: It's a reminder that there's big money in small deals, despite our tendency to focus on larger transactions.

Behind the scenes: The fund already is around 50% committed, with a split strategy between funds-of-funds and co-investments. It's the largest such vehicle Siguler Guff has ever raised, with expectations that the portfolio will be a bit larger than predecessors but that most of the excess cash will be used to increase ownership positions.

The bottom line: Small-cap buyouts are being driven by three main factors:

1. There are hundreds of thousands of possible targets (i.e., most American businesses); usually companies held by families or founders that have never raised institutional capital.
2. Such deals use relatively little leverage, which is a net positive as rates rise.
3. There's a glut of midmarket fund capital, which creates exit opportunities once companies have grown (either organically or inorganically).

🚀 Impulse Space, a developer of highly maneuverable spacecraft, raised $308m in Series D extension funding (round total $808m) from 137 Ventures, BANNER VC, DFJ Growth, Linse Capital, Lux Capital, and Valor Equity Partners. axios.link/4y2MnnA

⚡ Mazama Energy, a Frisco, Texas-based superhot geothermal energy developer, raised $135m in Series B funding and grants, per Axios Pro. Centaurus Capital and Doerr Capital led, joined by ConocoPhillips, Shell Ventures, SiteGround Capital, H. Barton Asset Management, the Jeffrey and Marieke Rothschild Foundation, Khosla Ventures and Gates Frontier. axios.link/4gZmRth

🚑 Sling Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based developer of oral treatments for thyroid eye disease, raised $123m in Series C funding. Forbion led, joined by TPG Life Sciences Innovations and Sectoral Asset Management. axios.link/4hds4g2

• Hang Ten Systems, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based AI services adoption company, raised $53m in new seed funding (round total now $85m). Xora led, joined by Mayfield, Aramco Ventures, Sanjay Mehrotra, and Jerry Yang. axios.link/4cP2vk9

• Luzern Risk, an NYC-based captive insurance platform, raised $45m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Insight Partners led, joined by Trust Ventures and insider Caffeinated Capital. axios.link/4hdjjTh

• BackOps, an SF-based supply chain management startup, raised $42m in Series B funding. Insight Partners led, joined by Theory Ventures, Construct Capital, Gradient Ventures, and 10VC. axios.link/3TdFHnt

• Noetive, an SF-based developer of self-improving AI for physical industries, emerged from stealth with $41m. Eclipse led, joined by Craft Ventures, The Westly Group, Swish Ventures, Factory, Incite Ventures, Gigascale Capital, Operator Partners, and Liquid 2 Ventures. axios.link/4Aiuv9N

⚡ Rune, a developer of solar power solutions for data centers, raised $40m in Series A funding. Spark Capital led, joined by Union Square Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Activate Capital, Committed Capital, Timeless Partners, and Logos Fund. axios.link/4AeDQiK

• TypeSafe AI, an SF-based composable AI startup led by OpenAI vet Diogo Almeida, raised $40m in seed funding led by DCVC. axios.link/3ViVy4J

• Comp AI, a security and compliance platform, raised $34m led by Roo Capital and Grand Ventures. axios.link/4izAWii

• Adaptive, a provider of accounting software to construction contractors, has raised $30m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Tidemark led, joined by insiders a16z, Emergence Capital, Pathlight, Definition, and 3KVC. axios.link/4xZfbx3

🚑 Altis Labs, a Canadian provider of AI software for drug development, raised US$25m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. OrbiMed and Qiming Venture Partners USA led, joined by Innovation Endeavors, Benchstrength, Fusion Fund, and Cancer Breakthrough Fund. axios.link/4yBg9Q6

• Loora, an English-learning app, raised $22m in Series B funding. Union Tech Ventures led, joined by vgames, Emerge, Hearst Ventures, and QP Ventures. axios.link/4xp7Ndl

🚑 Polyphron, an NYC-based developer of human tissue models for drug development, raised $20m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Quiet Capital led, joined by Gradient, Haystack, and Compound. axios.link/3VzyLBK

• Magentic, a London-based agentic platform for procurement data, raised $18m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Felicis led, joined by insiders Sequoia Capital and Westly Group. axios.link/46ymmAr

• Treble Technologies, a Reykjavik, Iceland-based developer of acoustic simulation for physical AI, raised $18m in Series A extension funding, per Axios Pro. Paladin Capital Group led, joined by insiders Kompas VC, Frumtak Ventures, and the EIC Fund. axios.link/4xyTfrI

⚡ R3 Lithium, a Covington, Ga.-based battery recycling startup, raised $15m from TDK Ventures, Integral GlobalTech Partners, and Axial Partners. axios.link/3UZTcrk

• Tare, an NYC-based blockchain credit exchange, raised $13.25m in seed funding. Blockchain Capital led, joined by Strobe Ventures, Janus Henderson, Apollo Global Management, The Venture Dept, Neoclassic Capital, and Avalanche Foundation. axios.link/4hawwvZ

• MicroLub, a U.K. developer of protein-based ingredients, raised $10m led by Northern Gritstone. axios.link/472u85L

• Syte, a German real estate planning startup, raised €9m in Series A funding. Amberra led, joined by NRW.Bank, HTGF, Vent.io, and Vantage Value. axios.link/470QLYf

• Eterna Regeneratives, a developer of toothpaste derived from human hair, raised $4m led by Hoxton Ventures and The Venture Collective, per Tech.eu. axios.link/4Ag9uwh

🚑 Advent International will invest around $328.5m into listed Indian hospital operator Yatharth for a 24.9% stake. axios.link/3SQQrIp

• Bain Capital and SoftBank affiliate LY Corp. increased their takeover offer for Kakaku (Tokyo: 2371), a Japanese price comparison and job search site, topping a bid from EQT. axios.link/4hclhD8

• Bendon, backed by Brightstar Capital Partners, acquired the North American business of Australian crafting company Hinkler. axios.link/3UME5l9

⚽ Clearlake Capital Group purchased minority stakes in soccer club Chelsea F.C. from Mark Walter and Todd Boehly. axios.link/4cLB7n1

• EQT is leading the race to buy Australian auction house Pickles, which could fetch A$1.5b, per The Australian. axios.link/3UUC1aJ

🚑 Everest Clinical Research, an Arlington Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired the biometrics and data services unit of Firma DS, a Northlane Capital portfolio company. axios.link/3TBDQZJ

🌍 GFL Environmental (NYSE: GFL) is expected to receive take-private bids from one group comprised of Brookfield and IFM Investors and another with KKR, Energy Capital Partners, and Blackstone, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4xxg0fL

• KKR is in pole position to buy Portuguese packaging maker Logoplaste from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan after Apax Partners walked away, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4AiP7Pe

• Tallvine Partners acquired the assets of Crosby Enterprises, a provider of marine infrastructure solutions across the U.S. Gulf Coast and inland waterways. axios.link/3VxBT0W

• Vantora (fka UP Labs), an industrial AI company, raised more than $100m from Silversmith Capital Partners. axios.link/4dFeErY

• Vitruvian Partners has acquired Smartling, an NYC-based provider of enterprise translation software, from backers like Battery Ventures. axios.link/4yHQ1mN

• Western Pavement Services, a Banner Capital portfolio company, acquired Andersen Asphalt, a West Haven, Utah-based provider of asphalt maintenance services. westernpavement.com

⚡ Holtec, a Jupiter, Fla.-based nuclear power engineering company, postponed an IPO that was scheduled to price this week, citing "market conditions." It had planned to sell 50m shares at $15-$18, giving it a $9.35b market cap at the midpoint, and list on the Nasdaq (HNUC). axios.link/4xW1Vt9

• Haymaker Acquisition V, a SPAC led by Christopher Bradley (Mistral Equity), raised $250m in its IPO. axios.link/4hUvpm5

⚡ Apollo ‌is exploring strategic options for Energos, a floating liquefied natural gas infrastructure firm that could fetch more than $3b, per Reuters. axios.link/4hya29u

• Blackstone hired Goldman Sachs to sell the Asian business of U.K. events organizer Clarion Events, per Bloomberg. axios.link/470RJ6P

• May Mobility, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based autonomous microtransit company, agreed to go public via a reverse merger with ACP Holdings Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ACGCW), a SPAC affiliated with Atlas Credit Partners. May has raised over $300m from firms like NTT Group, Toyota Ventures, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., State Farm Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Cyrus Capital, and Trucks VC. axios.link/3T3nHMz

⚡ Plains All American Pipeline (Nasdaq: PAA) and Plains GP Holdings (Nasdaq: PAGP) agreed to acquire Silver Creek, a crude oil gathering system in the Powder River Basin, from Tailwater Capital and The Energy & Minerals Group for $585m in cash. axios.link/3UUgQpm

⚡ National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG) hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of its natural gas production business, which could fetch around $5b, per Reuters. axios.link/4yGNXeE

• Sazerac, the New Orleans maker of Southern Comfort and BuzzBallz, is in talks to buy German schnapps maker Berentzen-Gruppe, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4y1uy8s

• Morgan Stanley Investment Management raised $1.3b for its debut growth equity fund. axios.link/471xohK

• Business Roundtable is promoting president and COO Kristen Silverberg to CEO, succeeding Josh Bolten. axios.link/3UTdPWd

• Seth Corder joined JPMorgan as an executive director of VC coverage. He previously was a managing director of Moderne Ventures. axios.link/3T7laRi

• Matt Gibson joined Strategic Value Partners as president, effective in February. He previously spent more than 25 years at Goldman Sachs. axios.link/3UZN02y

⚡ Kristin Kelly joined EIV Capital as a partner. She previously was a managing director at EIG. axios.link/4xXBh30

• Partners Capital promoted Jennifer Fox Bensimon to head of co-investments. axios.link/4gXzG7A