Two weeks ago we discussed private equity's push for retail investors — and how the Trump administration may hasten its efforts.

Since then there already have been three more related announcements.

• The biggest was 401(k) giant Empower saying that it will allow private equity and credit into some of its retirement plans.
• Vanguard also announced an interval fund in partnership with Blackstone and Wellington Management, while Coatue is launching a public/private tech fund where the minimum investment ins $50k.

For private equity, the upside is obvious. Trillions of newly available dollars, particularly at a time when it's become harder for many of them to raise institutional capital.

For retail investors, the pitch is about diversification and superior long-term returns than from passive index investing.

So what could go wrong? Gee, I'm so glad you asked. The short answer is a lot.

• Private equity may want money from the public, but there's no indication that it will share much information with the public.
• Portfolio company financials, strategy shifts, and other key information likely will be kept from retail investors. Institutional LPs still will get their quarterly and annual reports, plus insights via LPAC meetings, fomenting a sizable knowledge gap.
• If there is some sort of meltdown, retail investors may be the last to know. And they'd have fewer exit options than would institutional investors with deep experience in the LP secondaries market.

"We need to be careful of what we wish for," a longtime private equity exec recently told me about the retail drive.

• His argument was that private equity regularly suffers scandals — sometimes fraud, more often poor decisions — but that the headline risk is minimized by its curated investor base.
• Once such events hit Mom and Pop, the blowback could be stronger than the industry realizes.

The bottom line: Private equity's potential rewards clearly outweigh the risks, so there's no stopping this train (unless the White House unexpectedly changes its mind). But that doesn't mean it will be a smooth ride.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN) agreed to acquire the assets of bankrupt genetic testing company 23andMe for $256 million.

Why it's the BFD: 23andMe holds personal genetic data on more than 15 million customers, and there have been widespread concerns about what a buyer could do with that information.

• In a press release, Regeneron pledged to "ensure compliance with 23andMe's consumer privacy policies and applicable laws with respect to the treatment of customer data."

By the numbers: 23andMe went public via SPAC in 2021 at a $3.5 billion valuation, and briefly was valued at around $6 billion. It previously had raised over $800 million in VC funding.

The bottom line: This is a big loss for 23andMe co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki, who'd been trying to buy the company since last summer.

🚑 CellCentric, a U.K. developer of oral cancer drugs, raised $120m in Series C funding. RA Capital Management led, joined by Forbion, Avego Bioscience Capital, and BrightEdge. axios.link/43BQMky

🚑 Kincell Bio, a cell therapy CDMO, raised $22m led by NewSpring Capital. axios.link/3ScWZgn

• BreachRx, an incident response platform, raised $15m in Series A funding. Ballistic Ventures led, joined by SYN Ventures, Overline, and Silver Buckshot Ventures. axios.link/4miT3bP

• VUZ, a Dubai-based provider of immersive video experiences, raised $12m in led by IFC, with participation from AlJazira Capital and CrossWork VC. axios.link/43A1hom

🚑 Hy2Care, a Dutch developer of cartilage repair implants, raised €4.5m from EIC, Brightlands Venture Partners, and LIOF. axios.link/43mqFg2

• Catalyxx, a Spanish startup converting bioethanol into chemical products, raised €3m led by Axon Partners Group. catalyxxinc.com

• PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto-based quantum computer developer valued by VCs at $6.75b, is in talks to receive an investment from Nvidia, per The Information. axios.link/4j8rnTW

• Apax Partners agreed to acquire the treasury and capital markets business of Vista Equity-owned Finastra. Earlier reports suggested around a $2b price-tag. axios.link/434FK7i

⚡ Blackstone agreed to buy TXNM Energy (NYSE: TXNM), New Mexico's largest utility, for $11.5b (including debt), or $61.25 per share. axios.link/4kq4I6D

• Chobani, the yogurt maker whose backers include Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, acquired Daily Harvest, a meal kit company that had raised around $190m from firms like Lightspeed, VMG Partners, and Serena Ventures. axios.link/434FRzK

• Howard Lutnick sold his stakes in Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street firm he led, to his children and private investors like Josh Harris' 26North. axios.link/43nSLrp

🚑 New Mountain Capital launched Smarter Technologies, a health-care revenue management automation company. It was formed via the merger of Access Healthcare, SmarterDx, and Thoughtful AI. axios.link/4ktTsGx

Hinge Health and MNTN both plan to price U.S. IPOs this week.

• CATL, a Chinese EV manufacturer blacklisted by the U.S., raised $4.6b in a Hong Kong float. It already was listed in Shenzhen. axios.link/3ZpiC0N

• Sabic, a Saudi Arabian chemicals giant, is weighing an IPO of its gas business, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4kqNpm9

• Voyager, a Denver-based aerospace and defense company, filed for an IPO. It reports a $66m net loss on $144m in revenue for 2024, and plans to list on the NYSE (VOYG). axios.link/4jeJS9B

• Cinven hired Goldman Sachs and UBS to sell Ufinet, a Spanish telco that could fetch €6b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/437OLMY

• Adevinta, a Norwegian online classifieds group owned by Blackstone and Permira, is exploring the sale of its Spanish unit, per Reuters. axios.link/43l84kF

🚑 BioMarin Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: BMRN) agreed to buy Inozyme Pharma (Nasdaq: INZY), developer of an enzyme replacement therapy, for $270m in cash. axios.link/431HE8G

• BT (LSE: BT) is in advanced talks to sell its 50% stake in TNT Sports to joint venture partner Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD), per the FT. axios.link/4dovwSI

• Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) completed its $35b acquisition of Discover Financial. axios.link/4kmJ0R1

• Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) acquired a 75% stake in Connecticut-based real estate investment firm Proprium Capital Partners. axios.link/3F161Kx

• Sanmina (Nasdaq: SANM) agreed to buy the server manufacturing business of ZT Systems from AMD (Nasdaq: AMD) for $3b. axios.link/4mrZYj2

• Stord, an Atlanta-based cloud supply chain company that last week raised $80m in Series E funding at a $1.5b valuation, acquired Ware2Go from UPS (NYSE: UPS). ware2go.co

• Toyota Industries (Tokyo: 6201) plans to accept a $41b buyout offer from Toyota Motor (Tokyo: 7203) chairman Akio Toyoda, per Kyodo. axios.link/43vmsae

🚑 Frist Cressey Ventures is raising up to $400m for its fourth fund, per an SEC filing.

• Lidiane Jones, former CEO of Slack and Bumble, joined Silversmith Capital Partners as a senior adviser. axios.link/4dkvwD0

• Charles Spetka rejoined Fortress Investment Group as head of its new Middle East office in Abu Dhabi. He previously was with Leonardo Partners. axios.link/3GZqgc5

• YFM Equity Partners promoted Jamie Roberts to managing partner. He succeeds Eamon Nolan, who'll continue to lead investor relations for the U.K. firm. axios.link/4jW8dSF