Live Nation isn't out of the antitrust woods, as 27 state attorneys general (plus D.C.) will continue with a lawsuit that seeks to make the events promoter divest Ticketmaster.

• This comes after the Justice Department waved the white flag on its own case, settling for back-stage concessions, much to the chagrin of antitrust advocates who believed Live Nation was their best chance in decades to force a corporate breakup.

Why it matters: Antitrust enforcement is shifting to the states, as Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

• This is bipartisan. Forty states were part of the original Live Nation case, and over one-quarter of the remainders have Republican AGs.

Behind the scenes: No one can quite agree on why DOJ agreed to settle.

• Some argue that it rolled over and showed its belly to Trump-friendly lobbyists. Others believe that it had PTSD from losing its breakup case against Google, fresh off the FTC's loss of a breakup case against Meta.
• Or maybe it's just the loss of nerve and expertise after the administration forced out so many DOJ antitrust officials, including group head Gail Slater.
• The presiding judge, who possibly could still hear the states' case, was livid at not being informed until yesterday, given that the settlement was signed last Thursday. Today he's demanded to see both Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and acting DOJ antitrust chief Omeed Assefi, presumably to read them the riot act.
• One source says the notification delay was in order to give states time to sign onto the settlement, although that doesn't explain why DOJ's lead prosecutor on the case was also kept in the dark until the last minute.

The big picture: States do have significant authority to pick up the antitrust mantle.

• For example, Washington and Oregon were integral in helping to block the Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger.
• Several states reportedly are preparing to sue to block broadcasters Nexstar and Tegna from merging, should the deal receive FCC approval.
• California's AG has hinted that he may sue to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, regardless of federal regulatory approval.

Zoom in: Fischer writes: "Each state has different antitrust laws that they can point to when determining whether a deal or company is anti-competitive ... While individual states can sue to block deals or break up companies on their own, they are getting better at finding ways to combine enforcement resources."

• Axios Pro's Claire Rychlewski adds that some private equity firms have sought to avoid health-care rollups that involve states with active antitrust enforcement.

The bottom line: The idea that Trump would strongly oppose alleged monopolies — based on both his first term record and picking JD Vance for vice president — feels archaic.

• Feds out. States in.

Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund firm led by Bill Ackman, filed to raise between $5 billion and $10 billion in an IPO.

Why it's the BFD: Ackman won't give up his chase for permanent capital, or retail investors, wanting to be a next-gen Warren Buffett.

• He last tried in 2024, with talk of raising $25 billion via IPO, but the effort ultimately failed.

Catch up quick: Ackman in 2020 raised $4 billion via a blank-check structure, but later returned the money after failing to close on a proposed deal with Vivendi for Universal Music.

• Pershing Square does have a London listing, which early last year was consolidated with a prior vehicle listed in Amsterdam.

The bottom line: Pershing Square plans to trade on the NYSE (PS) and reports $762 million in 2025 revenue — $532 million in performance fees and $230 million in management fees.

• It technically would be a dual-listing for Pershing Square common stock and shares of its closed-end fund, and already has around $2.8 billion in commitments.

• AMI Labs, a world models developer led by Yann LeCun, raised $1.03b at a $3.5b pre-money valuation from Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Tim and Rosemary Berners-Lee, Jim Breyer, Mark Cuban, Mark Leslie, Xavier Niel, and Eric Schmidt. axios.link/4syUEfL

• Legora, a collaborative AI platform for lawyers, raised $550m in Series D funding at a $5.55b post-money valuation. Accel led, joined by Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Iconiq, Redpoint Ventures, YC, Alkeon Capital, Bain Capital, Firstmark Capital, Menlo Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Sands Capital, and Starwood Capital. axios.link/4rjug8z

• Armadin, an AI cybersecurity startup led by Kevin Mandia, raised $190m in seed and Series A funding. Accel led, joined by GV, Kleiner Perkins, Menlo Ventures, In-Q-Tel, 8VC, and Ballistic Venture. axios.link/40mBE8q

• Uzum, a Uzbek fintech and ecommerce company, raised $130m in equity and structured financing at a $2.3b valuation. Oman's sovereign wealth funds led, joined by insiders Tencent, VR Capital Group, and FinSight Ventures. axios.link/4usD5zZ

• Juicebox, an SF-based recruiting platform, raised $80m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. DST Global led, joined by Sequoia, Coatue, YC, NFDG, and Verified Capital. axios.link/4lky4Fa

• Kast, a Singaporean stablecoin payments platform, raised $80m in Series A funding. QED Investors and Left Lane Capital led, joined by Peak XV Partners, HSG, and DST Global Partners. axios.link/46PvFws

• Mozark, a Singaporean digital experience testing and measurement startup, raised $40m in Series B funding. IFC led, joined by RMB Capitalworks and Kalaari Capital. axios.link/4cEHjy2

• Dify, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based AI application and agentic workflows developer, raised $30m at a $180m valuation. HSG led, joined by GL Ventures, Alt-Alpha Capital, 5Y Capital, Mizuho Leaguer Investment, and NYX Ventures. axios.link/4sl7U8l

• Qevlar AI, a developer of agents for security operations centers, raised $30m led by Partech and Forgepoint Capital International, per Axios Pro. Partech and Forgepoint Capital led, joined by EQT Ventures. axios.link/4bgbIQN

• PactFi, a provider of workflow software for private credit deal teams, raised $25m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. 7Ridge led, joined by Vestigo Ventures. axios.link/4sBwEZy

• Saltz, a Dutch online food supply marketplace, raised €20m in Series A funding from EBRD, Inovo, Lifeline Ventures, and Change Ventures. axios.link/4rhyDkv

🚑 Tacit, a Brisbane, Calif.-based RNA editing startup, raised $19m from Civilization Ventures, KdT Ventures, Eisai Innovation, and Michigan Capital Network. axios.link/4blrBp3

• Escape, a security engineering platform, raised $18m in Series A funding. Balderton led, joined by Uncorrelated Ventures, Iris, an YC. axios.link/4riWgcJ

• Outpost, a cross-border trade platform for merchants raised $17.5m in Series A funding. Ribbit led, joined by insider Better Tomorrow Ventures. outpost.ai

• Sigma360, an NYC-based provider of AI risk and compliance software, raised $17.3m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Moderne Ventures led, joined by Vocap Partners, Orrick, Contour Ventures, and Mosaik Partners. axios.link/4uqdsQk

🌍 Seprify, a Swiss bio-materials startup, raised €13.4m in Series A funding from Inter IKEA Group, Una Terra Early Growth Fund, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, and Kickfund. axios.link/4s27QKt

• City Detect, a Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based computer vision startup that helps local governments monitor building conditions, raised $13m in Series A funding. Prudence led, joined by Zeal Capital Partners, Knoll Ventures, and Las Olas Venture Capital. axios.link/4rZrW7X

🚑 Amigo AI, an NYC-based developer of patient-facing AI agents, raised $11m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Madrona led, joined by Optum Ventures. axios.link/4s3EuLN

• Yourco, a Chicago-based frontline employee communication platform, raised $6m in Series A funding led by High Alpha. axios.link/4sDmaJb

• Anchr, an NYC-based provider of software for food distributors, raised $5.8m in pre-seed funding from a16z, Anterra Capital, Offline Ventures, and Long Journey Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4byLKcq

• Cytotrait, a British agricultural gene-editing startup, raised £3m in seed funding led by Northern Gritstone. axios.link/4bdE12l

• NjiaPay, a South African payment routing startup, raised $2.1m in seed funding led by Newion. axios.link/4ukuHT0

• Altamont Capital Partners acquired Key Container, a Pawtucket, R.I.-based corrugated box manufacturer. axios.link/4uhRQVV

• Ardian agreed to buy a majority stake in Italian self-storage firm Casaforte. axios.link/4cXwEP9

• ATIS, a Thompson Street Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired Soberman Engineering, a Toronto-based vertical transportation consultancy. axios.link/4s290pd

• Cogency Global, a Bertram Capital portfolio company, acquired Elemental CoSec, a U.K. secretarial, governance, and compliance firm. axios.link/4lhZgEC

• Fera Science, a U.K. portfolio company of Bridgepoint, acquired Qotho Minerals, a South African provider of of proficiency testing and reference materials for the minerals industry. axios.link/3ORSp93

• ISPN, an Align Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired ZCorum, an Alpharetta, Fa.-based provider of managed IT services. axios.link/4cyiHH4

• LDC invested in i247, a British provider of fleet management software for the auto leasing market. axios.link/4rlYPKQ

• Midland Industries, a Gemspring Capital portfolio company, acquired Industrial Specialties Manufacturing, an Englewood, Colo.-based maker of pneumatic, vacuum, and fluid circuitry components. axios.link/4rZjEwR

• Monomoy Capital Partners agreed to acquire auto services chain Jiffy Lube from Shell (LSE: SHEL) for $1.3b. axios.link/4b9pqWZ

⚡ Siris agreed to acquire a majority stake in Takkion, an Evansville, Wyo.-based services provider to the renewable energy industry, from Apollo. axios.link/40ToFep

• Madison Air Solutions, a Chicago-based maker of HVAC products, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $2b. It reports $58m of net income on $3.5b in revenue for 2025, and plans to list on the NYSE (MAIR). axios.link/4rrjDk5

• West Enclave Merger, a Latin America-focused SPAC, filed for a $100m IPO. axios.link/46LydvC

• Advent International is exploring a sale of Ultra Maritime, a Braintree, Mass.-based defense-tech company that could fetch more than £3b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4rk2sRu

• EQT hired Arma Partners to sell SUSE, a Luxembourg-based open-source software firm that could fetch up to $6b, per Reuters. axios.link/4s1la1s

🚑 GI Partners hired Centerview and Guggenheim to sell clinical trial tech business Clinical Ink, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4b157e3

🚑 Knox Lane pulled its sale process for pharma marketing business Fingerpaint Group amid valuation discord, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4b157e3

• Main Post Partners agreed to sell DeMert Brands, parent company of haircare brand Not Your Mother's, to Henkel. Axios Pro flashback

• Meta (Nasdaq: META) acquired Moltbook, a viral social network designed for AI agents, per Axios. Moltbrook backers include Javelin Venture Partners. axios.link/4sH3oRk

• OpenAI agreed to buy Promptfoo, an AI security and evaluation platform that had raised over $18m from Insight Partners and a16z. axios.link/40m90Ef

• Raiffeisen ​Bank of Austria is in talks to buy BBVA's Romanian unit for around €550m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/47DzaGv

⚡ Trilliant, a Cary, N.C.-based smart-grid tech company owned by founder Steve Muzzo and private credit firm Third Eye Capital, hired Jefferies to seek a buyer, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4s2RXn2

• Underdog, a fantasy sports company valued at $1.2b by VCs, acquired the parent company of political predictions market PredictIt. axios.link/3P31Li8

🚑 Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) agreed to acquire virtual mental health company Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK) for around $835m, or $5.25 per share. axios.link/47xlqgo

• Bain Capital raised $10.5b for its sixth Asia buyout fund, topping its $7b target, per Bloomberg. axios.link/46Tc1Qa

• Breakout Ventures, an SF-based industrial and life sciences firm, raised $114m for its third fund. axios.link/4s27mnx

• Co Ventures, an Australian pre-seed fund, held an A$15m first close on its second fund. axios.link/4desm5L

• Founders Fund is nearing a $6b final close for its fourth growth fund, per TechCrunch. axios.link/4b3B0mg

• Pax Ventures, a new firm led by Michelle Volz (ex-a16z), raised $50m for its debut fund. axios.link/4sAL4sK

• Judan, a state-owned financial services group in Abu Dhabi, agreed to buy a 50.1% stake in Alpha Wave Global (fka Falcon Edge Capital). axios.link/40rnSRQ

• Truelink Capital of LA raised $2b for its second flagship midmarket PE fund. axios.link/4cEA1tY

• Matt Carbonara joined venture firm Mayfield. He previously was a managing director with Citi Ventures. axios.link/4s1yP8U

• E-Fei Wang joined hedge fund manager Irenic Capital Management to lead a new private equity practice. He previously was with Apollo. axios.link/3Ne1iJs