Here's a riddle for you: What's gotten bigger as its gotten smaller?

• Answer: The 2024 M&A market.

State of play: Global deal value is up 18% over the first three quarters of 2024, including a 23% bump in the U.S., according to preliminary data from LSEG.

• Those are the headline figures.
• At the same time, however, the number of global deals is down 22%. And it's even worse in the U.S., which has seen a 30% decline.
• Put another way, big deals are dominating — with giant year-over-year increases in terms of both dollars and number.

Why it matters: The rich are getting richer while mid and lower-market players are being left out in the cold.

Zoom in: LSEG's global data includes Alimentation Couche-Tard's proposed $57 billion buyout of 7-Eleven owner Seven & i, which remains very much in doubt.

• On the other hand, it also still includes Nippon Steel's tenuous $15 billion deal for U.S. Steel in the 2023 totals.
• Also worth noting that quarter-over-quarter deal dollars have decreased in both Q2 and Q3, although Q3 2024 was slightly higher than was Q3 2023.

Look ahead: Past isn't necessarily prologue when it comes to deal activity, but it's notable that deal data divergence is something of a reversion to the recent mean.

• $5 billion+ deals made up 22.6% of all deal volume so far in 2024, whereas they were at just 17% over the same period in 2023. Before that, however, the 20% mark had been topped in eight of the prior nine years.

OpenAI's board is discussing a major corporate restructuring, which could eliminate company control by an affiliated nonprofit.

Why it's the BFD: OpenAI is finalizing the largest venture capital round of all time, making this "building the jumbo jet while it's in the air" sort of stuff.

Zoom in: Changing to a pure for-profit structure could remove profit caps from investors, and reportedly may include up to a 7% equity stake for CEO Sam Altman (who currently holds no shares, and has claimed to be fine with it).

• It also may have contributed to yesterday's shock resignations of chief technology officer Mira Murati and chief research officer Bob McGrew.

The bottom line: It would be tough for a startup to raise a few million in seed funding in the midst of such tumult. But $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation? Cut the checks.

🚑 Zing Health, a Chicago-based Medicare Advantage insurer, raised $140m from Health 2047 Capital Partners, CRG, First Trust Capital Partners and insiders Newlight Partners, Town Hall Ventures, Health 2047, and Leavitt Equity Partners. axios.link/3XZbmbV

• Distribution, a German B2B ground transportation marketplace, raised $80m in Series C funding. TQ Ventures led, and was joined by insider Lightrock. axios.link/3znymId

• UJET, an SF-based provider of cloud contact center solutions, raised $76M in Series D funding. Sapphire Ventures led, and was joined by KeyCorp, IonPacific and insiders GV, Kleiner Perkins, Citi Ventures, DCM, and Ericsson Ventures. axios.link/4dml5xt

• Crisp, a Bentonville, Ark., supply chain data startup, raised $72m in Series B funding from Wellington Management, Toshiba, DNX, Cox, and Prologis. axios.link/4eiFCnH

🚑 Qure.ai, an Indian disease diagnostics startup, raised $65m in Series D funding. Lightspeed and 360 ONE Asset co-led, and were joined by Kae Capital and insiders Novo Holdings, HealthQuad, and TeamFund. axios.link/3XUd1zg

⚡ Marvel Fusion, a German nuclear fusion startup, raised €62.8m in Series B funding. HV Capital led the round with participation from b2venture, BayernKapital, Deutsche Telekom, SPRIND, and Tenglemann Ventures. axios.link/3BjcmyF

🚑 Mirai Bio, a platform for enhancing genetic medicines, launched with $50 from Flagship Pioneering. axios.link/3BlR9Ek

• Dinii, a Japan-based restaurant management platform, raised around $48m. Bessemer Venture Partners and Hillhouse Investment Management co-led, and were joined by Ecelectic and Flight Deck Capital. axios.link/4gDAvA8

• Prepared, a startup that helps 911 dispatchers get a caller's real-time location, raised $27m in Series B funding. A16z led, and was joined by First Round Capital and M13. axios.link/4gGJhND

• K1x, a Chicago-based provider of K-1 data aggregation and reporting solutions, raised $20m led by Edison Partners. k1x.io

• Convergence, a developer of AI agents with "long-term memory," raised $12m in pre-seed funding. Balderton Capital led, and was joined by Salesforce Ventures and Shopify Ventures. axios.link/3TJpvXY

• DeepOpinion, an Austrian generative AI automation startup for enterprises, €11m in Series A funding. Red River West and AIpha Intelligence Capital co-led, and were joined by insiders Lunar Ventures and Stride VC. axios.link/47Jqhde

• Surgar, a French developer of AR solutions for surgery, raised €11m. Mutuelles Impact led, and was joined by Elaia Partners, and MH Innov. axios.link/4eGp09p

• DefectDojo, an Austin, Texas, app security startup, raised $7m co-led by Iolar Ventures and Aspenwood Ventures. axios.link/47Evmno

• AminoChain, a decentralized science project, raised $5m in seed funding led by a16z. axios.link/4eCi2lM

• Tetrix, a New York-based platform for alt asset portfolio management, raised $5m led by Innovation Endeavors, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3N1C654

🚑 Dimer Health, a Mendham, N.J., provider of hospital discharge and aftercare software, raised nearly $3m in seed funding led by Tech Aviv, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3TLidD7

🚑 Everise, a health-care customer experience company backed by Warburg Pincus and Brookfield Asset Management, acquired Continuum, a Dallas-based customer services company, from Skyview Capital. axios.link/4ezzEP4

• Investcorp bought Stowe Family Law, the U.K.'s largest family law firm, from Livingbridge. axios.link/3XTpgw1

• KKR and Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund agreed to buy a 74.25% stake in Queensland Airports from Macquarie, State Super, and Australian Retirement Trust. axios.link/4eo5M8D

• Koch Equity Development is in talks to buy Forbes, per Axios' Sara Fischer. axios.link/4ei2zav

• L Catterton agreed to buy a majority stake in Pilates studio operator Solidcore at a $600m-$700m enterprise value from VMG Partners, Peterson Partners, and Kohlberg & Co. axios.link/4eA8dEM

• MBK Partners sweetened its offer to buy a controlling stake in Korea Zinc, the world's largest refined zinc producer, in partnership with the company's largest shareholder. axios.link/4gIedNx

• New State Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in The Expo Group, an Irving, Texas-based provider of services to the trade show and live event industry. theexpogroup.com

• RedBird IMI acquired Efran Films, a Toronto-based reality TV production company, and rebranded it Bright North Studios. axios.link/4djoPzE

⚡ Validus Energy, backed by Elliott Managementand Pontem Energy Capital, agreed to buy Tulsa's Citizen Energy from Warburg Pincus for more than $2b, per Reuters. axios.link/4eiJ1TA

🚑 BioAge Labs, a Richmond, Calif., developer of anti-obesity therapies, raised $198m in its IPO. It sold 11m shares (vs. original 7.5m plan) in the middle of its $17-$19 range, for a $602m initial market cap. BioAge will list on the Nasdaq (BIOA), and had raised around $320m from such firms as a16z, Khosla Ventures, Sofinnova Venture Partners, Longitude Capital, RA Capital, Cormorant, Kaiser Permanente, Horsley Bridge, Osage University Partners, Lilly Ventures, Felicis, and Amgen Ventures. axios.link/3Xx9ENe

⚡ BKV Corp., a Denver-based natural gas producer operating in the Barnett and Marcellus Shales, raised $270m in its IPO. The company priced at $18 (below $19-$21 range), is controlled by Thai energy firm Banpu, and will list on the NYSE (BKV). axios.link/3XrgvrF

• Europastry, a Spanish frozen bread and bakery company backed by MCH Private Equity, plans to raise €210m in a revived Madrid listing. axios.link/3BhDLB0

🚑 Guardian Pharmacy Services, an Atlanta provider of pharmacy services for long-term health care facilities, raised $112m in its IPO. It priced 8m shares at $14, versus plans to offer 6.75m shares at $14-$16 for an $869m fully diluted market cap. It will list on the NYSE (GRDN), while backers include Cardinal Equity Partners and Bindley Capital Partners. axios.link/3ZprsMY

• Automatic Data Processing (Nasdaq: ADP) is in talks to buy Livonia, Mich.-based WorkForce Software for around $1.2b from backers like Elliott Management and Insight Partners, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4gHN7pO

• Horizon Capital hired HSBC to revive its sale process of Sabio Group, a British cloud migration firm that could fetch up to €400m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3BerE7E

• PAG and Apex Technology are weighing a sale of Lexmark International, a Lexington, Ky., digital printer maker that could fetch up to $2b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3TLOWIv

• Visa (yes, the one just sued for alleged antitrust violations) agreed to buy Featurespace, a British developer of payments protection technology that raised around $150m from firms like Insight Partners, Highland Europe, Invoke Capital, TTV Capital, Cambridge Angels, and Touchstone Innovations. axios.link/3TFcI99

⚽ The family office of General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford acquired a 24% stake in English soccer club York City FC. axios.link/3XNyl8C

• Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), the parent company of FanDuel, is launching up to a $5b share buyback. axios.link/3XV1cJi

• Lightspeed Commerce (TSX: LSPD), a Canadian software maker with a C$3.2b market cap, hired JPMorgan Chase to explore a sale. axios.link/47G64VO

• Sodexo (Paris: SW), a French catering company, is weighing a takeover offer for rival Aramark (NYSE: ARMK), which has nearly a $10b market value, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3XYdGjg

🚑 Asabys Partners, a Spanish life sciences VC firm, raised €180m for its second fund. axios.link/3ZFplEX

• Citigroup and Apollo Global Management launched a $25b private credit, direct funding program. Participants include Mubadala and Apollo subsidiary Athene. axios.link/4ezzJSO

• Cody Ng joined 01A Advisors. He previously was with Point72 Ventures. axios.link/4djo4GP

• Rachel Racz joined Nasdaq has SVP and head of listings for Texas, Southern U.S. and Latin America. She previously was biz dev director at Pickering Energy Partners. axios.link/3ZD96bk

• Kainos Capital promoted both David Gassko and Jeff Moredock to partners. kainoscapital.com