"If you've come this far, maybe you'd come a bit further."

• That's what Andy Dufresne writes to Red, upon his release from Shawshank State Prison.
• It's also the message of a different letter, sent this week by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, asking that her agency expand its antitrust authority to include large corporate purchases of residential real estate.

The big picture: Private equity is one of the country's top buyers of single-family rental properties, but such deals don't face the same type of regulatory scrutiny as private equity's more traditional takeovers.

• That would change if Khan heeds Klobuchar's request.

In the weeds: This is about how the FTC interprets a rule that exempts "acquisitions of goods or realty transferred in the ordinary course of business" from antitrust reporting requirements that otherwise apply to deals worth around $120 million or more.

• The FTC currently puts residential real estate transactions in that bucket, but could reverse course without congressional approval.

Zoom in: Klobuchar's letter implies that corporate ownership of residential real estate results in higher rents and prices, particularly by concentrating purchases within select ZIP codes.

• And her office sent over several papers and articles supporting this thesis, including one from the Philly Fed.
• But the buyside has long disagreed, arguing that it's subject to the residential real estate market's traditional supply-and-demand dynamic; much of which is driven more by local zoning regulations than private equity rapacity.
• It's also worth noting that Klobuchar's letter only asks the FTC to require the reporting of such acquisitions, not that they necessarily be blocked.

The bottom line: A loophole may be closing.

Source: Giphy

Aflac (NYSE: AFL) has agreed to buy around a 40% stake in private credit firm Tree Line Capital Partners, per the WSJ.

Why it's the BFD: This reflects the quickening consolidation of alt asset managers and insurers, but also stands apart because most prior deals have involved the former buying the latter.

Details: Aflac reportedly is paying around $100 million, with sellers including both company management and Stone Point Capital.

• Tree Line was founded 10 years ago in San Francisco, and focuses on small and mid-sized companies.

The bottom line: "Tree Line's loans are mostly made to private-equity-backed companies and come with collateral protection for the lenders in case things go wrong. ... By owning 40% of the firm, Aflac will also be able to earn income from dividends and benefit if the company grows in value." — Alexander Saeedy, WSJ

🚑 Ubiquity Bio, a drug startup initially focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, raised $300m from Blackstone Life Sciences. axios.link/3K3GDmb

• Restaurant365, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of restaurant management software, raised $175m. Iconiq Growth led, and was joined by fellow insiders KKR and L Catterton. axios.link/3QOi7Jr

• Weka, a Campbell, Calif., data platform, raised $140m in Series E funding at a $1.6b post-money valuation. Valor Equity Partners led, and was joined by Nvidia, Norwest Venture Partners, Micron Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, and Hitachi Ventures. axios.link/3K2Lowf

• Alkira, a San Jose, Calif., cloud connectivity company, raised $100m in Series C funding. Tiger Global led, and was joined by NextEquity Partners, Geodesic Capital and insiders Dallas VC, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Koch Disruptive Technologies. axios.link/3K2NDzH

• Cover Genius, a New York embedded insurance startup, raised $80m in Series E funding, per Axios Pro. Spark Capital led, and was joined by Dawn Capital, King River Capital, and G Squared. axios.link/44KD5i1

🌎 Cylib, a German lithium-ion battery recycler, raised €55m in Series A funding. World Fund and Porsche Ventures co-led, and were joined by Bosch Ventures, DTCF NRW.Venture, and insiders Vsquared Ventures, Speedinvest, and 10x Founders. axios.link/3ymNR27

• PolyAI, a British conversational AI startup, raised $50m at nearly a $500m valuation. Hedosophia and NVentures co-led and were joined by insiders like Khosla Ventures and Point72 Ventures. axios.link/3yjiaqd

• PayHOA, a Lexington, Ky., provider of homeowner's association management software, raised a $27.5m Series A led by Elephant. axios.link/3yfXEqu

🚑 Nabla Bio, a Cambridge, Mass., generative protein design startup, raised $26m in Series A funding led by Radical Ventures. axios.link/3V0LSJr

🚑 Fay, a platform that helps dieticians launch insurance-covered practices, raised $25m. General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures co-led, and were joined by 1984. axios.link/4an42JV

• Colab, a maker of collaborative tools for engineers, raised $21m in Series B funding. Insight Partners led, and was joined by YC, Killick Capital, and Pelorus VC. axios.link/44MyqMw

• Harbor Lab, a Greek maritime accounting software startup, raised $16m in Series A funding led by Atomico. axios.link/3QMCqaf

🚑 Watershed Health, a New Orleans-based patient care coordination startup, raised $13.6m. First Trust Capital Partners led, and was joined by FCA Venture Partners, Create Health Ventures, Impact Engine, 450 Ventures, LDH Ventures II/Launchpad Digital Health, MassMutual Ventures, Capstar Partners, and Wanxiang Healthcare Investments. watershedhealth.com

• Leya, a provider of AI tools for lawyers, raised $10.5m in seed funding. Benchmark led, and was joined by Hummingbird, SV Angel, and YC. leya.law

• Recall.ai, a virtual meeting data platform, raised $10m in Series A funding. Ridge Ventures led, and was joined by Industry Ventures, YC, Irene, Bungalow Capital, and Hack VC. axios.link/3QMTME0

🚑 Acclinate, a Birmingham, Ala.,-based startup focused on improving clinical trial diversity, raised $7m in Series A funding. Cencora Ventures led, and was joined by Labcorp and Latimer Ventures. axios.link/4bE0VhZ

• Malted AI, a Scottish small-language model startup, raised £6m. Hoxton Ventures led, and was joined by Creator Fund. axios.link/3QLBX8k

🚑 Phenomix Sciences, a Wayzata, Minn., obesity precision medicine startup, raised $5.5m in Series A funding from DexCom, Labcorp, and Health2047, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3ULH1uj

• Layer, an SF-based embedded accounting platform, raised $2.3m in pre-seed funding led by Better Tomorrow Ventures. layerfi.com

• Grasp, a Swedish AI assistant for I-banks and management consultants, raised €1.9m from backers like Philian Invest. axios.link/4ag6v92

• C/side, an SF cybersecurity startup focused on the web browser supply chain, raised $1.7m led by Scribble Ventures. cside.dev

• Bishop Lifting, a Houston portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners, acquired Oceanside Equipment, a Canadian wholesale distributor of rigging and mooring products. lifting.com

• Blackstone agreed to majority stake in Priority Software, an Israeli provider of ERP software, from TA Associates. axios.link/3wL1yXZ

• CallRevu, a Towson, Md., portfolio company Serent Capital, acquired TotalCX, a Houston call management platform. callrevu.com

⚡ Crescent Energy, a Houston oil and gas producer backed and managed by KKR, agreed to buy rival SilverBow Resources (NYSE: SBOW) for around $2.1b. axios.link/3K1JDj5

• Dessert Holdings, a portfolio company of Bain Capital, acquired Kenny's Great Pies, a Smyrna, Ga., maker of cream-based pies, from Kaho Partners. kennysusa.com

• Global Infrastructure Partners and ADIA are partnering on a $3.9b privatization bid for Malaysia Airports Holdings, alongside the company's two largest shareholders. axios.link/3ywClRB

• Gregory FCA, a PR firm backed by Copley Equity, acquired financial and strategic communications agency BackBay Communications. axios.link/3UZC8zj

• Hansons, a Troy, Mich., portfolio company of Huron Capital, acquired Paramount Builders, a Virginia Beach, Va., home repair provider. hansons.com

• Iris Software, a portfolio company of Leonard Green & Partners, acquired Swipeclock, a South Jordan, Utah, provider of SME workforce management solutions. isis.co.uk

• LogRhythm, a security information and event management company owned by Thoma Bravo, agreed to merge with Exabeam, a security intelligence firm that's raised over $400m from firms like Lightspeed, Cisco, Sapphire Ventures, Norwest, Aspect Ventures, and Icon Ventures. axios.link/4dGR1xO

• Mill Point Capital acquired iQor, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., provider of business process outsourcing solutions. iqor.com

• Watermill Group invested in Musser, a Rural Retreat, Va., maker of dried hardwood fiber. musserlumber.com

• Go Digit, an Indian insurance startup, raised $141m as part of an IPO launch. Backers include Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, ADIA, Bay Pond, Mirae Asset Management, Steadview Capital, and HSBC. axios.link/44GBbiq

• Tyfon Culture, a Chinese art marketplace, agreed to go public via Global Technology Acquisition Corp. I (Nasdaq: CTAC) at an implied $434m enterprise value. axios.link/3K4NNXl

• April, an Indonesian paper and pulp company, agreed to buy Indian tissue paper maker Origami Cellulo for around $50m. Sellers include BanyanTree. axios.link/4ahZ0hW

• AIG (NYSE: AIG) agreed to sell a 20% stake in Corebridge Financial (NYSE: CRBG) to Japan's Nippon Life Insurance for $3.8b. axios.link/3UYlrEl

• Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $6.7b stake in insurer Chubb(NYSE: CB). axios.link/3V2HOss

• John Wood Group (LSE: WG), a Scottish engineering firm, rejected a sweetened £1.47b takeover approach from family-owned Sidara. axios.link/3UGfDhC

🚑 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) agreed to buy Proteologix, a South SF-based biotech focused on atopic dermatitis, for $850m in cash (plus possible earnouts). axios.link/3wspJdX

• Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU) agreed to buy its Mexico franchise partner, which operates 15 stores. axios.link/4blz7Pp

• Accion launched a $153m fund focused on emerging market financial institutions. https://axios.link/4apjpS2

• Peakbridge, an agri-foodtech VC firm based in Luxembourg, raised $187m for its second growth fund. axios.link/3UL1BuS

• Plural, an early-stage VC firm focused on Europe, raised €100m in new fund capital. plural.vc

• Shilling, the VC arm of Portuguese investment firm Draycott SCR, raised €50m for a growth-stage fund. axios.link/3WNjwnD

• Anjali Agarwal joined Allied Industrial Partners as CFO/chief compliance officer, while Steven Hirsch joined as director. Agarwal previously was with Salient Partners, while Hirsch was with The Sterling Group. alliedindustrialpartners.com

• Mike Ringler and Peter Jones joined law firm Sullivan & Cromwell as Palo Alto, Calif.-based M&A partners. They previously were with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. axios.link/44Qf21u

• Pillar VC promoted Parker McKee, Tony Kulesa, and Thomas de Vlaam to partner. pillar.vc

Life insurers are increasing their use of private credit, but allocations differ significantly by regulatory regime, according to a new report from Moody's.

• The U.S. and Bermuda have increased their use of private credit more rapidly than have their European and Japanese peers.
• Two differences cited by Moody's are the levels of capital charges for individual asset classes, and the discounting of liabilities.