Today's column didn't come together in time, so let's hit the notebook:

🌳 Succession: Sequoia Capital, arguably the most successful venture capital firm ever, yesterday announced that Alfred Lin and Pat Grady will be elevated to firm stewards, succeeding Roelof Botha.

• As much as this is a story about those three men, it's as much about one who died six years ago: Don Valentine.
• Valentine founded Sequoia in 1972 without putting his name on the masthead, despite prevailing practice and the fact that "Valentine Ventures" would have been a catchy brand. He wanted to establish a culture and company that could outlast him, like the best founders do.
• To that point, when Valentine stepped back in 1996 and handed the firm's "stewardship" to Michael Moritz and Doug Leone, he didn't ask for future compensation.
• Botha will remain with Sequoia and on his portfolio boards. Seems like we'll have lots to discuss at Axios BFD on Nov. 18.

🗳️ Pension boss: New York City's election headlines were understandably dominated by Zohran Mamdani, but it's worth also noting that Mark Levine handily won the race for comptroller — which means he'll oversee the city's $300 billion pension fund system.

• Levine and Mamdani cross-endorsed each other, but the former seems to be a pretty strong capitalism supporter.
• Levine has said that he plans to continue expanding the NYC pension system's exposure to alternative assets, including private equity and real estate.
• Partially for the sake of diversification, but also because he believes such investments enable outsized returns that could be applied to initiatives like increasing affordable housing.

🚑 Drug deal: Novo Nordisk this morning reported earnings that showed slowing growth of its GLP-1 sales, which helps explain its efforts to wrest Metsera from Pfizer.

• Axios' Caitlin Owens digs into how both suitors are making their America First case.

⚖️ On the docket: Palantir received a temporary restraining order against the two ex-employees that it recently accused of stealing information to create a rival company formed by General Catalyst.

• The defendants didn't object to the TRO, although they "deny the allegations" and "plan to defend against the lawsuit."
• What to watch next is General Catalyst, from which Palantir subpoenaed certain documents by Nov. 21. So far it hasn't objected on the record.

🍦 Mint chocolate mystery: Magnum Ice Cream, which is demerging from Unilver, said in an SEC filing that the chair of its Ben & Jerry's brand "no longer meets the criteria to serve" following "internal investigations."

• Bizarrely, the filing doesn't name the chair nor explain what it was investigating. But the Ben & Jerry's website lists Anuradha Mittal as chair of an independent board that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield set up when they first sold their ice cream brand to Unilever in 2000.
• Both founders, plus the Ben & Jerry's board, have opposed elements of the demerger plan. It's unclear, however, if Magnum has the power to remove the chair.
• The demerger is expected to close in early December, having been delayed by the government shutdown.

Apollo Global Management has withdrawn its $2.1 billion takeover offer for pizza chain Papa Johns (Nasdaq: PZZA), as first reported by Reuters and confirmed by Axios.

Why it's the BFD: We're seeing the emergence of a restaurant recession, which is a blaring alarm for the rest of America's economy. Even in pizza, which historically has been the take-out meal of last resort.

Zoom in: Apollo bailed on Papa Johns before Yum Brands put Pizza Hut on the block, so this wasn't a pie swap.

• Papa John's shares fell nearly 10% on the news, to $43.47 per share. Apollo's approach was $64 per share. It reports earnings tomorrow.

The bottom line: "While some private equity investors are still interested in buying [Papa Johns], people familiar with the bidding process said, they do not think it is worth $64 a share given softening consumer demand for fast-casual food." — Reuters

• Ripple, the cryptocurrency company behind XRP, raised $500m led at a $40b valuation. Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities led, joined by Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace. axios.link/49Cjwgq

• Armis, an SF-based cyber exposure management, raised $435m at a $6.1b post-money valuation. Goldman Sachs Alternatives led, joined by Evolution Equity Partners and insiders like CapitalG. axios.link/47I74t4

• MoEngage, a customer engagement platform for consumer brands, raised around $60m in Series F primary funding (as part of a $100m round, including secondaries) led by A91 Partners and insider Goldman Sachs Alternatives. axios.link/47HgC7K

• DeepJudge, a Swiss AI search startup for law firms, raised $41.2m in Series A funding. Felicis led, joined by Coatue. axios.link/47ARYp1

• Procurement Sciences, a Dunstable, Mass., provider of government contracts software, raised $30m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Catalyst Investors led, joined by Battery Ventures, Tower Research Ventures, K Street Capital, and Blu Ventures. axios.link/47LQJUf

🚑 Affect Therapeutics, a gamified mental health startup, raised $26m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Allumia Ventures led, joined by Artis Ventures, City Light Capital, LifeArc Ventures, and Limitless Ventures. axios.link/4hJllu5

• RAAAM, an Israeli developer of on-chip memory for AI processors, raised $17m in Series A funding. NXP Semiconductors led, joined by IAG Capital Partners, EIC Fund, LiFTT, Alumni Ventures and all existing investors, including J-Ventures, Silicon Catalyst Ventures, and Serpentine Ventures. axios.link/4hJ9UTh

• Parable, an "intelligence layer for enterprise operations," raised $11m in seed funding. HOF Capital led, joined by InMotion Ventures and Story Ventures. axios.link/4hJnsOx

• Poseidon Aerospace, an SF-based developer of cargo-hauling unmanned aircraft, raised $11m in seed funding. Tamarack Global led, joined by Drover Ventures, Draper Associates, and Starship Ventures. axios.link/3JNuy85

• Fintary, an SF-based insurance commissions platform, raised $10m in Series A funding. Infinity Ventures led, joined by Sierra Ventures. axios.link/4ozio1N

• Malanta, an Israeli predictive cybersecurity startup, raised $10m, per Axios Pro. Cardumen Capital led, joined by The Group Ventures. axios.link/43cXm0l

• Tsuga, a French observability platform, raised $10m in seed funding. General Catalyst led, joined by Singular. axios.link/43g4n0q

• Ruli.ai, an Austin, Texas-based legal intelligence platform, raised $6m in seed funding. Album VC led, joined by SignalFire, PJC, Foothill Ventures, Mana, and Genius Ventures. axios.link/47UaCcS

• Mindsmith, a Provo, Utah-based e-learning platform, raised $4.1m in seed funding. Next Frontier Capital led, joined by WndrCo and Grix. mindsmith.ai

• Kabilio, a Barcelona-based accounting and tax automation startup, raised €4m in pre-seed funding led by Visionaries Club and Picus Capital. axios.link/4oV9prz

• Adaptronics, a Milan-based developer of electro-adhesive grippers for industrial and space robotics, raised over €3m. 360 Capital led, joined by Galaxia. axios.link/4nPD98s

• Fit Collective, a London-based fashion-tech startup using AI to "fix" sizing, raised £3m in pre-seed funding from AlbionVC, Superseded, True and January Ventures. axios.link/47Wkh2D

⚡ Apollo Global Management agreed to invest $6.5b into an Ørsted offshore wind farm in the U.K. axios.link/4hEhcHE

• Bain Capital is in talks to buy the US$14b wealth management unit of Australian investment manager Perpetual (ASX: PPT). axios.link/4hNmDEq

• JT Thorpe, an H.I.G. Capital portfolio company, acquired ThorCan, a Canadian refractory services company. axios.link/4nwNw0t

• L Squared invested in Ergo, a NYC-based geopolitical and strategic intelligence firm. axios.link/49x81Xx

• PennAero, a Tinicum portfolio company, agreed to acquire the aerospace assets of TriMas Corp. (NYSE: TRS) for around $1.45b. Blackstone also participated on the buyside. axios.link/3XcHnvI

• TPG agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Kinetic, the largest bus operator in Australasia, from Canadian pension OPTrust at a A$4b valuation. Foresight retains its 30% position. axios.link/3Lla7Qo

• Cantor Equity Partners V, the 15th SPAC formed by Cantor Fitzgerald, raised $220m in an upsized IPO. axios.link/3HuRNTq

• Exzeo Group, an insurance underwriting and analytics platform being carved out of HCI Group (NYSE: HCI), raised $168m in its IPO. It priced in the middle of its $20-$22 range, giving it a $1.9b initial market cap, and will list on the NYSE (XZO). axios.link/4qK7nMw

⚽ Monarch Collective acquired a 38% stake in German soccer club FC Viktoria Berlin Women. axios.link/48XEuWS

🦈 Pinkfong, a South Korean media company behind "Baby Shark," raised $53m in a domestic IPO. axios.link/4oVaDTH

• Silex Microsystems, a Swedish foundry recently acquired by Bure Equity and Creades, is weighing a 2026 Stockholm IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4oohaGu

The U.S. Justice Dept. cleared Google's $32 billion takeover of cybersecurity company Wiz, which has raised $1.8b in VC funding.

• Arctic Wolf, an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based cybersecurity company valued by VCs at $4.3b, agreed to acquire UpSight Security, a Beaverton, Ore.-based ransomware detection startup seeded by Dreamit Ventures and Oregon Venture Fund. axios.link/3JxJasc

• CBRE Group acquired Pearce Services, a Paso Robles, Calif.-based provider of technical services for digital and power infrastructure, from New Mountain Capital for $1.2b in cash (plus up to $115m in earnouts). axios.link/43d0Foh

🚑 Royalty Pharma acquired a royalty interest in Alnylam's (Nasdaq: ALNV) Amvuttra drug, which treats ATTR amyloidosis, from Blackstone for $310m. axios.link/3JFRTbH

🦣 Colossal Biosciences, a "de-extinction" company valued by VCs at $10.2b, acquired Viagen Pets & Equine, a Cedar Park, Texas-based animal cloning company. axios.link/49Br82J

⚡ Ovintiv (NYSE: OVV) agreed to buy the 89.4% stake it doesn't already hold in shale producer NuVista Energy (TSX: NVA) for $2.7b in cash and stock. axios.link/43fhFu3

• Armilar, a Lisbon, Portugal-based VC firm, raised €120m for its fourth flagship fund. axios.link/4nAyd7f

• Aspirity Partners, a London-based PE firm focused on European financial and enterprise tech, raised €875m for its debut fund. It's led by Joe O'Mara (ex-Vitruvian). axios.link/47s7pRP

• Tom Eacobacci, former president and COO of BlackBerry, joined Guidepost Growth Equity as an operating partner. axios.link/4okR5YT

• Glenn Rewick has left Deutsche Bank to join VC firm Flagship Pioneering, per Bloomberg. axios.link/47H5bN4

Wall Street bonuses are expected to grow for the second straight year, driven by a dealmaking boom and bull market, per a new projection from compensation consultancy Johnson Associates.

• Sure, AI is coming for many of these jobs. But that's a tomorrow problem. For now, it's about deeper pockets for holiday shopping — and maybe a bigger target for NYC's incoming mayor.

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