If Democrats gain full control of Congress next week, as many polls and prediction markets suggest they will, private equity could once again find itself in the political crosshairs.

The big picture: Private equity has become a rhetorical punching bag for more than a dozen Democratic House and Senate candidates, including in debates and on the stump, as an affordability bête noire.

• Most of this has related to housing, both single-family and mobile homes, but also has extended to health care.

What they're saying: "It's no doubt that housing is way out of control and a big part of that is because private equity has come into Maine," said Troy Jackson in an Oct. 6 debate with Sen. Susan Collins. "I do think we have to go after private equity, make it so that they can't buy these things and charge outrageous prices."

• Chris Pappas, running for an open Senate seat in New Hampshire, said during a campaign stop at a mobile home community: "We need to... address the housing crisis that we're seeing, including addressing the corporate private equity influence that we're seeing in housing that's making it less affordable and is causing a lot of consternation here at this park."
• Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) decried PE ownership of residential care facilities during a public event, saying: "Those people know nothing about health care."

State of play: Congress passed a bipartisan bill this past summer to restrict PE ownership of single-family homes, with the Treasury Department last week issuing related regulations.

• The legislation became law despite not being signed by President Trump, who supported it but was in a snit over the Senate not passing his voter identification bill.

Zoom in: A Democratic sweep would likely result in Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) taking the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee gavel, which means she'd go from writing strongly worded letters to holding hearings and guiding legislation.

• "Americans are sick and tired of private equity's playbook of rolling through industry after industry, jacking up prices and leaving local businesses and workers in the dust," she tells Axios. "After we passed a bipartisan law this year to ban private equity from buying up homes, candidates everywhere are campaigning on reining in private equity in the next Congress, whether in hospitals, mobile home communities, residential care facilities, or other industries."
• It's also worth noting that Warren has Republican allies when it comes to some of these issues, having worked with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on a stalled health bill that has been more endorsed by Senate candidate James Talarico.

The bottom line: Private equity has a very successful track record in beating back federal legislation that could hurt its bottom line. What to watch is if past proves to be precedent.

Jio Platforms, India's largest telecom and digital services provider, raised $3.2 billion in its IPO at around a $106 billion valuation.

Why it's the BFD: This was India's largest IPO ever, topping prior record-holder Hyundai Motor India.

Cap table: Jio Platforms is a carveout of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, and had raised billions of private market dollars from Alphabet, Meta, KKR, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, TPG, Qualcomm Ventures, Intel Capital, ADIA, and Mubadala.

Investor reax: Jio shares surged 27% during their first trading day, helping Reliance leapfrog Tata Group to become India's largest conglomerate by market cap.

The bottom line: "Investors had to weigh the Ambanis' digital dreams against risks including the potential disruption from satellite-based connectivity: Elon Musk's Starlink has been waiting since 2022 to operate commercially in India and, if granted access, would be a direct competitor." — Ujjaini Dutta, Reuters BreakingViews

• Upwind, an Israeli cloud security company, raised $400m in Series C funding at a $3.8b valuation, per Axios Pro. Bessemer Venture Partners led, joined by Canapi Ventures and insiders Cyberstarts, Greylock Partners, Craft Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Picture Capital. axios.link/4zdZ1k3

• Lumaril, an NYC-based factory optimization startup, raised $66m in Series A funding at a $400m valuation. Elad Gil led, joined by Felicis, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Pax Ventures, and insiders Lux Capital and General Catalyst. axios.link/47G2YlF

🚑 Intake Breathing, a Santa Barbara, Calif., maker of a magnetic nasal dilator, raised $62m from Camino Partners, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4jMkxYr

• Fragment, an NYC-based procurement startup, raised $56m in seed and Series A funding, per Axios Pro. 8VC led the A, joined by General Catalyst, A*, and Roelof Botha. axios.link/4sqA3eO

• Infisical, an SF-based cybersecurity startup, raised $40m in Series B funding at a $600m valuation. Elad Gil led, joined by Gradient and YC. axios.link/3Uq5jy2

• Maxinsights, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based robot training data startup, raised $30m in seed funding. Peak XV led, joined by Tola Capital, South Park Commons, INCE Capital, and Alumni Ventures. axios.link/4iJd7nI

🚑 Vera Health, an SF-based clinical AI search engine, raised $28.5m in Series A funding. Threshold Ventures led, joined by Optum Ventures, Mantis VC, SV Angel, YC, and Gradient. axios.link/4e3Q84l

• Circuit Mind, a London-based electronic design intelligence startup, raised $18.5m in Series A funding. Norwest led, joined by Third Prime, Differential, Blackhorn, and Lightscape VC. axios.link/4sxp4QT

• Luxor Technology, a Seattle-based bitcoin mining services provider, raised $16m. CMT Digital led, joined by Canaan and MicroBT. axios.link/4inS09a

• Plato, a provider of simulated workplaces for AI training, raised $16m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Nava Ventures led, joined by insider Gradient Ventures. axios.link/4yQDopc

• Sava, an SF-based trust administration startup, raised $10m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Gradient Ventures led, joined by YC, SV Angel, Orange Collective, and SurgePoint Capital. axios.link/3UWxcxT

• FluxCap, an AI tool for litigators led by former DOJ antitrust officials Jonathan Kanter and Doha Mekki, raised $6.4m in seed funding from Bloomberg Beta and YC. axios.link/4szDxfi

• Mostest, a NYC-based event-booking platform, raised a $4m seed round from Capital Q Ventures, Nexus Luxury Collection, T-Squared Social, Wildwood Ventures, Locker Room Capital, and Newbond. axios.link/4iJEZbq

🚑 Parasol Med Tech, a Chicago-based stroke prevention startup, raised a $2.75m pre-seed round from Harper Court Ventures, UChicago Medicine Ventures, and Cardiovascular Innovation Ventures. axios.link/3Wbvfhp

• Edge Sound Research, a Riverside, Calif.-based audio infrastructure startup, raised $2m led by Stormbreaker Ventures. axios.link/3U53R46

🍔 Trian Fund Management, led by Nelson Peltz, offered to acquire Wendy's (Nasdaq: WEN) for around $1.4b, or $7.35 per share (20% premium to yesterday's closing price). axios.link/4eE2lgb

⚡ Burns Engineering, backed by OceanSound Partners, acquired PRVN Consultants, an Iowa City, Iowa-based energy engineering firm. axios.link/4eXaGvs

• CVC, Cinven, and Spanish beauty company Puig are among those circling Parfums de ‌Marly, a French luxury fragrance brand owned by Advent International, per Reuters. axios.link/47PYlFF

• Edge Industrial Technologies, backed by Falfurrias Capital Partners, acquired Harvest Blade, a Salinas, Calif.-based industrial blade resharpening and supply company. axios.link/4jK6R0c

• Ferranti, a Belgian utilities sector software provider owned by Main Capital Partners, acquired Belgian peer Cogenius. axios.link/4yOZ30J

• I Squared Capital agreed to buy Kansas City-based Orizon Aerostructures for around $2b from backers like American Industrial Partners. axios.link/4svenyi

🚑 Leonard Green & Partners acquired Radon Medical Imaging, a Charleston, W.Va.-based medical equipment repair and maintenance company, from 5th Century Partners. axios.link/4yMBWUH

• Maccaferri, an Ambienta portfolio company, acquired Metallurgica Irpina, an Italian maker of wire-based solutions for infrastructure, perimeter protection, and agriculture. axios.link/4zefuoz

• Oddball, a Falfurrias portfolio company, acquired the Salesforce tech and services business of Synaptic Era. axios.link/4sNa9lT

• Shrieve Chemical, backed by Gemspring Capital, acquired Clear Solutions, a U.K. maker of water-based drilling fluid systems. axios.link/4jKpnWi

• TempusDirect, a Tempe, Ariz.-based provider of third-party claims cost containment solutions for P&C insurers, raised growth equity from Aldrich Capital Partners. axios.link/48jX1ee

• TPG is in talks to buy U.K. ​data center group Ark from ‌Elliott Investment Management for around $5b, per the FT. axios.link/3WQR99S

• Truelink Capital agreed to acquire the global intrusion products business of Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI). axios.link/4e0uWvX

• Virent Capital invested in Kanahoma, a San Diego-based higher-ed marketing agency. axios.link/4yIMcgM

• Heroic Empire Acquisition, a SPAC led by William Ip (Amasse Capital), filed for a $100m IPO. axios.link/4yGGJXH

• Syngenta, a Swiss seeds and pesticides giant owned by China National Chemical, could seek to raise around $10b at a $66b valuation in a Hong Kong IPO early next year, per Reuters. axios.link/4yOfZoj

• CoStar (Nasdaq: CSGP) agreed to acquire Vexcel, an aerial imagery group, for $730m. Sellers include Riverwood Capital. axios.link/4yK6ari

⚡ GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) agreed to acquire Trench Group, a German maker of high-voltage products, for $9b from Triton Partners. axios.link/4eyrTeA

• Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE) agreed to buy Hyperexponential, a London-based provider of mathematical modeling software for commercial insurers, for $1.7b in cash and up to $400m in earnouts. Hyperexponential has raised $88m from firms like Battery Ventures, a16z, and Highland Europe. axios.link/3Wf3lRC

• Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) agreed to acquire Classiq, an Israeli quantum software startup, for $2.3b. Classiq had raised over $200m from AMD Ventures, CDP Venture Capital, GlenRock Israel, Lane Hamilton, LIP Ventures, NightDragon, Norwest, Qualcomm Ventures, SoftBank, Vertex Ventures, Alumni Ventures, HSBC Ventures, Samsung NEXT, Team8, IonQ, Mirae Asset Capital, LeumiTech77, and Quantum Eretz. axios.link/4iLoMS7

🚑 RadNet (Nasdaq: RDNT) agreed to acquire Onrad, a Phoenix-based teleradiology and radiology staffing firm, from Housatonic Partners for around $717m in cash and stock upfront (plus $210m of earnouts). axios.link/4zX4aNE

🚑 US WorldMeds bought Orbus, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based brain tumor biotech that had raised $67m from firms like Abingworth, Agent Capital, Adams Street Partners, H.I.G. HealthBridge, and Longitude Capital. axios.link/3WzUkmh

The FTC will seek to block Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) from buying rival workplace uniform maker UniFirst (NYSE: UNF) for $5.5b, per Semafor.

🚀 Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) received FCC approval for its $11.57b acquisition of satellite-based telco Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSAT). axios.link/4yOfEC3

• Ares Capital agreed to acquire MidCap Financial Investment (Nasdaq: MFIC) for $2.6b in cash and stock. axios.link/4Br8ciR

• Hummingbird, a VC-backed orchestration platform for financial crime compliance, acquired Quantimon, a machine learning platform for AML risk detection. hummingbird.co

• Andrew Dean and Christopher Mulligan, both former SEC attorneys, are leaving Weil, Gotshal & Manges to join Skadden. axios.link/3TX0s7q

• Dragonfly, a crypto-focused VC firm, promoted Rob Hadick and Tom Schmidt to managing partners. axios.link/4yRlClD

• Karin Geldfeld joined Cerity Partners as a principal of private markets. She previously was managing partner of Marinta Investments. axios.link/4jK3VRd

• Chris Holzshu joined Franchise Equity Partners as an operating partner focused on the auto industry. He previously was with Lithia & Driveway. axios.link/3UNWjTy

• Manoj Kothiyal joined Boston-based PE firm Astira Capital Partners as a partner and head of AI. He previously was chief business officer and global head of AI at LTM. axios.link/3WdQ8IK

• Peter Larsen joined HarbourVest Partners as a managing director and head of infrastructure distribution. He previously spent over 17 years at Hamilton Lane. axios.link/4i8eJaz

• David Pett joined Moelis as a managing director. He previously was with Bridgepoint Financial Technology. axios.link/48kWp8e

• Standard Investments promoted Peter Marturano to chief investment officer. axios.link/4ic4eTy

• Ron Sylvestri joined HighPost Capital as managing director of marketing. He previously founded and led Quail Ridge Asset Management. axios.link/3VZg7nl

• Andrew Symons joined Threadmark as a managing director. He previously was with Sustainable Development Capital. axios.link/4BLlBm2

Instacart shares hit an all-time high on Monday, before a slight Tuesday pullback, following reports that the grocery delivery company is nearing a sale to DoorDash.

• Both WSJ and Reuters put around a $17 billion price on the prospective deal, which would work out to over $70 per Instacart share, although neither said if DoorDash would pay all cash or cash and stock.