No one wants to hear that they've "ballooned," but soon that phrase could refer to weight lost rather than weight gained.

Driving the news: Allurion Technologies, maker of swallowable gastric balloons, today will go public on the New York Stock Exchange, via a reverse merger with a SPAC led by former Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak.

• The Natick, Massachusetts-based company previously raised over $200 million in equity and debt from firms like Runway Growth Capital, Romulus Capital and Novalis LifeSciences.

Why it matters: Anti-obesity is health care's new big thing, thanks to the popularity of new drugs like Ozempic, after a long history of most prescribed treatments being behavioral.

• But not everyone wants a pharmaceutical solution, particularly given the potential downsides.

How it works: Allurion patients undergo a 15-minute procedure during which they swallow a capsule that holds the uninflated balloon.

• The capsule is tied to a small catheter that's subsequently filled with water, thus inflating the balloon inside of the patient's stomach and suppressing appetite for around four months. A couple days of post-procedure nausea is common.
• Allurion also offers virtual care technologies to patients, including a companion app, connected scale and health tracker. The goal would be to establish long-term behavioral change, although some patients have been known to take a second balloon.

State of play: Allurion balloons have been legal in Europe for more than seven years, with the company generating more than $60 million in 2022 revenue.

• It's still awaiting FDA approval, and warns in its prospectus that it would expect most U.S. sales to be out-of-pocket rather than reimbursable by insurance.
• That's in keeping with the current framework for anti-obesity drugs, although there are reimbursable exceptions (including via Medicare) for those diagnosed with conditions like diabetes.
• "We believe there will be reimbursement in the long-term, and certain sets of people could be reimbursable earlier, but we'll build our business without counting on it," says company co-chairman Krishna Gupta, who also leads REMUS Capital and is the company's first and largest outside shareholder.
• Allurion does have competition, namely an FDA-approved gastric balloon made by Apollo Endosurgery — a company bought last year for $615 million by Boston Scientific. One big procedural difference, however, is that the Apollo balloon requires patient sedation.

The bottom line: "People used to ask if the market was big enough," Gupta says. "No one asks that anymore."

• Two updates to yesterday's BFD on NATO's new venture capital fund:

1. Sweden became a limited partner, putting the fund above €1 billion.
2. Neither the U.S. nor Canada has yet agreed to participate. Per terms of the limited partnership agreements, that means the funds cannot invest in U.S. or Canadian companies. Discussions are said to be ongoing.

• One update on yesterday's top item about the New Relic buyout: The debt package, structured as an annual recurring revenue loan, is $2.6 billion.

• Digital World Acquisition Corp., the embattled SPAC seeking to merge with former President Trump's social media company, disclosed that its outside auditor quit and that it's searching for a new one.

The PGA Tour, which recently agreed to merge with Saudi Arabia-based LIV Golf, is adding Tiger Woods to its policy board.

Why it matters: This gives golfers control of the board, outnumbering independent directors six to five, and thus control of the LIV deal's fate.

The bottom line: "Players have been reeling for weeks over the tour's decision to exclude them from negotiations with Saudi investors and have been working behind the scenes on ways to address their myriad concerns. Forty-one players, including Woods, sent a letter Monday to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, saying the sport is at a crossroads and demanding more say in the future of the tour." — Rick Maese & Sally Jenkins, Washington Post

• Micro Connect, a Hong Kong-based microfinance platform, raised $458m in Series C funding at a $1.7b post-money valuation from undisclosed investors. https://axios.link/3KpPTS3

🚑 CG Oncology, an Irvine, Calif.-based developer of immunotherapies for bladder cancer, raised $105m in fifth-round funding. Foresite Capital and TCGX co-led, and were joined by Avidity Partners, BVF Partners, Janus Henderson Investors and insiders Acorn Bioventures, Ally Bridge Group, Decheng Capital, Longitude Capital, Malin Corp. and RA Capital Management. www.cgoncology.com

🚑 Healthmap Solutions, a Tampa, Fla.-based population health management company focused on kidney disease, raised $100m led by WindRose Health Investors. www.healthmapsolutions.com

🚑 LightForce Orthodontics, a Burlington, Mass.-based maker 3D-printed dental devices, raised $80m in Series D funding, per Axios Pro. Ally Bridge Group, Transformation Capital and Care Capital co-led, and were joined by Omega Venture Partners, Matter Venture Partners, Delta Dental of California and the American Association of Orthodontics. https://axios.link/3OFL6i8

• Shadowfax, an Indian logistics startup, is nearing a $60m investment led by TPG NewQuest, per TechCrunch. https://axios.link/3QnCfD4

• Finda, a South Korean loan comparison platform, raised $37m in Series C funding. JB Financial Group led, and was joined by 500 Global. https://axios.link/43UV973

⚡ Equilibrium Energy, a startup renewable power company, raised $33m from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Global Founders Capital and NJP Ventures. https://axios.link/3KphLpr

🚑 VenoStent, a Houston-based-based developer of vascular support devices, raised $16m in Series A funding co-led by Good Growth Capital and IAG Capital Partners. www.venostent.com

• Local Logic, a Canadian location intelligence insights provider, raised US$13m in Series B finding. GroundBreak Ventures and Investissement Québec co-led, and were joined by Band Capital Partners, Triovest Realty Advisors, Cycle Capital, Desjardins Group, Jones Boys Ventures, Second Century Ventures and Shadow Ventures. www.locallogic.co

• Silk Security, a New York-based "sustainable cyber risk resolution" startup, raised $12.5m in seed funding. Insight Partners and Hetz Ventures co-led, and were joined by the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. www.silk.security

• Lightup, a Mountain View, Calif.-based data quality platform, raised $9m in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz andNewland Ventures co-led, and were joined by Spectrum 28 Capital, Shasta Ventures, Vela Partners and Incubate Fund. https://axios.link/3OEx9AV

🚑 Uptiv Health, a New York-based infusion treatment startup, raised $7.5m in seed funding from such firms as Redesign Health, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3OmIQe6

• Source, a Portland, Ore.-based B2B marketplace for commercial construction products, raised $7.5m in Series A funding. M13 led, and was joined by Rise of the Rest, Rogue Venture Partners, Founders' Co-op and Oregon Venture Fund. www.tothesource.com

🚑 Béa Fertility, a British provider of fertility tools and home insemination units, raised $3.2m. Octopus Ventures led, and was joined by JamJar, Forward Partners and insiders Calm/Storm and Q Ventures. https://axios.link/44P0vSE

🚑 Pelvital, an Eagan, Minn.-based pelvic health device maker, raised $2.7m in seed funding led by Boomerang Ventures. www.flytetherapy.com

🚑 Basys.ai, a Cambridge, Mass.-based VBC enablement platform for health systems and payers, raised $2.2m in funding, led by Nina Capital. www.basys.ai

• Angeles Equity Partners acquired Custom Goods, a Carson, Calif.-based provider of asset-light logistics services. www.customgoodsllc.com

• Arlington Capital Partners acquired Integrated Data Services, an El Segundo, Calif.-based provider of software for federal government customers. www.get-integrated.com

🍔 Back Yard Burgers, a Nashville-based fast food chain owned by Axum Capital Partners since 2017, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This comes shortly after fellow Axum portfolio company Wild Wing Cafe also went Chapter 11. https://axios.link/47fuSUc

• Fujitsu (Tokyo: 6702) shortlisted Apollo, Bain Capital, KKR and Japan Investment Corp. for a control stake in chip packaging business Shinko Electric Industries, per Bloomberg. The deal could fetch around $2.7b. https://axios.link/43OsIrv

⚡ Garnett Fleming, a Harrisburg, Pa.-based portfolio company of OceanSound Partners, acquired DiGioia Gray, a Monroeville, Pa.-based provider of power delivery, geotechnical and civil engineering solutions. www.garnettfleming.com

• IFF (NYSE: IFF) completed the sale of its flavor specialty ingredients unit to Exponent. www.iff.com

🚑 InTandem Capital Partners invested in musculoskeletal care provider OrthoNebraska. www.orthonebraska.com

• KKR agreed to buy a majority stake in Indian pallet pooling platform LEAP India. https://axios.link/3qivkAf

🚑 Lion Equity Partners acquired Country Life, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based nutritional supplement maker, from the parent company of Japan's Kikkoman Corp. www.countrylifevitamins.com

• Palladium Equity Partners acquired Superior Environmental Solutions, a Cincinnati-based provider of industrial cleaning services, from Rosewood Private Investments. www.sesinc.com

• PureTech Scientific, a Belle, W.V.-based portfolio company of Iron Path Capital, acquired the glycolid acid business of Chemours (NYSE: CC) for $137m. www.puretechscientific.com

⚡ TSG Consumer Partners invested in Trinity Solar, a Warwick, R.I.-based residential solar and battery storage developer. www.trinity-solar.com

• Vista Equity Partners is offering to invest another $1b of preferred equity into portfolio company Finastra Group, a London-based provider of payment infrastructure software, as part of a debt refinancing package, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3OgLulz

• WIN-911, an Austin, Texas-based portfolio company of Capstreet, acquired SyTech, a Franklin, Mass.-based industrial reporting platform. www.win911.com

• Arm, the SoftBank-owned chipmaker, is targeting an IPO valuation of between $60b and $70b, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3qd9oX9

• Sedibelo Resources, a South African platinum miner, withdrew plans for a dual IPO on the NYSE and Johannesburg Stock Exchange. https://axios.link/3Ocd0Rg

• CorpAcq Holdings, a British "corporate compounder," agreed to go public at an implied $1.58b valuation via Churchill Capital VII (NYSE: CVII), a SPAC led by Michael Klein. https://axios.link/3rTkgKp

• Volato, an Atlanta-based platform for fractional ownership of private jets, agreed to go public at an implied $261m enterprise value via Proof Acquisition Corp. 1 (NYSE: PACI). https://axios.link/3QpFvxK

• DoubleVerify (NYSE: DV) agreed to acquire Paris-based ad tech firm Scibids for $125m in cash and stock. Scibids had raised around $7m from Iris Capital and Blacksheep Ventures. https://axios.link/44QWsVV

• Hopin, a London-based virtual events company valued by VCs at $7.6b in 2021, sold its events management platform and interactive engagement tools to RingCentral (NYSE: RNG). https://axios.link/458xm4P

• Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (LSE: CCEPC) and Aboitiz Equity Ventures will pay $1.8b in cash to buy Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines. https://axios.link/43XEJLb

• Emirates Telecom agreed to pay €2.15b for a majority stake in PPF Telecom's assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. https://axios.link/45dw5t1

• HomeStreet(Nasdaq: HMST) is exploring options that could include a sale, per Bloomberg. The Seattle-based bank's market cap has fallen by around two-thirds this year to $172m. https://axios.link/3OaWfFW

• Itochu Corp. (Tokyo: 8001) will pay up to $2.7b to take its software unit private. https://axios.link/3qdi6ES

• Realm, a New York-based podcasting company that's raised around $15m in VC funding, acquired podcast companies Pinna and Lipstick & Vinyl. https://axios.link/3rZvb53

• Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) sold its Chinese Decorative Paints business to AkzoNobel (AMS: AKZA). https://axios.link/3qk0t6f

• Wex (NYSE: WEX) acquired Ascensus' employee health and benefit administration unit for $180m. https://axios.link/3OBdQsi

• Golding Capital Partners of Germany raised €172m in a first closing for a new private equity secondaries fund. www.goldingcapital.com

• SK Capital Partners raised $800m for its second Catalyst fund, focused on lower midmarket companies in the specialty materials, ingredients and life sciences sectors. www.skcapitalpartners.com

• Tuesday Capital raised $31m for its fifth seed-stage fund. https://axios.link/3KpnEmN

• Whitehorse raised $5b for its fifth fund focused on structured liquidity solutions for private equity portfolios. https://axios.link/3Qpy5uo

• John Bertrand joined BTIG as a managing director of debt capital advisory. He previously was with Stifel Financial. www.btig.com

• Manish Jain is joining India's Yes Bank as head of corporate banking, per Bloomberg. He previously was co-head of corporate, commercial and institutional banking at Standard Chartered. https://axios.link/3OEjj1o

• Tyler Mayoras, formerly of Advantage Capital Partners, joined Manna Tree as director of portfolio growth. https://axios.link/45aecLJ

• Aarish Patell joined LGT Capital Partners as an executive director. He previously led IR at Canvas Ventures. https://axios.link/3QlsyVm

• Jeongseok Jay Yu joined law firm Foley Hoag as a partner focused on M&A and growth equity. He previously was with Greenberg Traurig. www.foleyhoag.com

Fortune this morning released its Global 500, with Walmart taking the top spot for the 10th year in a row. Here's the Top 10:

1. Walmart (U.S.)
2. Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)
3. State Grid (China)
4. Amazon (U.S.)
5. China National Petroleum (China)
6. Sinopec (China)
7. ExxonMobil (U.S.)
8. Apple (U.S.)
9. Shell (Britain)
10. UnitedHealth Group (U.S.)