Emptying out the notebook after a rainy Memorial Day weekend...

💰 MENA money: Private equity investors tell me that sovereign wealth money is continuing to flow from the Middle East, despite the Iran war.

• Yes, but: Saudi Arabia is the exception. Its spigot isn't shut, but definitely turned a few rotations to the right.
• Look ahead: The big question is how countries like Qatar and UAE will seek to bulk up porous national defenses, including around energy infrastructure. That spend may eat into foreign investment coffers.

⚾ Juuust a bit outside: U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D-Maine) recently released an ad that accuses private equity of having "destroyed our favorite baseball team, stripping them for parts."

• He's referring to the Boston Red Sox, who indeed are an on-field abomination. But it's a cheap play on fan emotions, because private equity has nothing to do with the present putridity (just like it didn't with last year's playoff run).
• Private equity bought a small stake five years ago — said to be around 11% — while actual control belongs to John Henry, a onetime hedge fund manager who bought the club in 2002. Minority investors don't make player personnel or payroll decisions.
• For better of worse, the Red Sox fortunes — and sky-high ticket prices — lie at John Henry's feet. Private equity is in the bleachers.

🦄 Unicorn inflation: In November 2013, Aileen Lee coined "unicorn" to describe startups worth $1 billion or more.

• The threshold now should be $1.43 billion, based on the CPI calculator.

💵 Masa's millions: SoftBank has donated $50 million to the Trump presidential library, per Politico.

• Worth noting that SoftBank will need CFIUS clearance to complete its $4 billion acquisition of U.S. data center firm DigitalBridge. The final say on any CFIUS decision rests with President Trump.

🍎 Big Apple action: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is trying to block Western Union from completing its $500 million acquisition of payment transfers firm Intermix, arguing that it could result in higher fees and worse service for New Yorkers seeking to make remittances.

• Mayors don't typically get involved in mergers, and Mamdani doesn't have any real authority here. Instead, he made his plea via letter to the state's Department of Financial Services, which hasn't yet signed off on the deal.
• Intermix shares fell on the news, first reported by Semafor, although it remains within a dollar of the purchase price.

🏾 Quantum cash: Quantinuum today updated its IPO prospectus, including some detail on its pending equity deal with the U.S. government.

• The company's $100 million CHIPS Act award would be tranched out, including $56 million upfront and then the two subsequent payments based on project milestones being achieved.
• But the U.S. gets all of its stock upfront, even if those milestones aren't met. Shares would be issued at a 20% discount to the IPO price, or a 15% discount to the trading price when the award is formally granted (if it's already gone public).

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has agreed to pay up to $3.8 billion in cash to buy three vaccine developers: Curevo, LimmaTech, and Vaccine Co.

Why it's the BFD: GLP-1 riches are being repurposed to prevent infections.

Zoom in: Lilly will pay up to $1.5 billion for Curveo, a Bothell, Washington-based developer of a shingles vaccine, had raised around $200m in VC funding from Medicxi, GC Biopharma, Sanofi Ventures, OrbiMed, RA Capital Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Adjuvant Capital, and Janus Henderson.

• It will pay up to $780 million for LimmaTech, a Swiss firm focused on bacterial pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus. It had raised $40m from firms like Tenmile, Repair Impact Fund, AXA Investment Managers, Novo Holdings, Adjuvant Capital and CARB-X.
• It will pay up to $1.55 billion for Vaccine Co., which is developing a vaccine for Epstein-Barr virus.

The bottom line: Lilly, which was the first company to distribute the polio vaccine, looks to be diving back into infectious diseases.

• Stord, an Atlanta-based logistics startup serving midmarket e-commerce brands, raised $250m in Series F funding at a $3b post-money valuation from Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Franklin Templeton, Baillie Gifford, Strike Capital, G Squared, Bond and Lux Capital. axios.link/4v9A4ns

• OpenRouter, an AI model marketplace, raised $113m led by CapitalG at a $1.3 valuation. CapitalG led, joined by a16z, Menlo Ventures, NVentures, ServiceNow Ventures, MongoDB, Snowflake, and Databricks. axios.link/42Wfefw

🌎 P2 Science, a Woodbridge, Conn.-based green chemistry startup focused on converting feedstocks into ingredients, raised $23m. Sofinnova Partners led, joined by Lewis & Clark Partners, dsm-firmenich ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Elm Street Ventures, Chanel, BASF, and Safer Made. axios.link/4dwcxav

🚑 Lucis, a French preventative health platform, raised $20m in Series A funding. Singular led, joined by General Catalyst and YC. axios.link/4dyFPFC

🚑 Perceptic, an AI operating system for drug development, raised $12m in seed funding from Accel, Air Street Capital and Elder Gull. axios.link/4wPQfYX

• Arc, a voice AI startup focused on restaurant drive-thrus, raised $10.8m in seed funding led by a16z. axios.link/4wRjsmi

• Quanscient, a Finnish simulation platform for quantum engineering, raised €10m in Series A funding. 55 North and B&C Group led, joined by Maki VC, Crowberry Capital, QAI Ventures, and First Fellow Partners. axios.link/4vbLebr

• Didit, an SF-based developer of identity and infrastructure, raised $6m in new seed funding from YC, Pioneer Fund, Orange Collective, Founders Future, Phosphor Capital, SaaSholic, and Rebel Fund. didit.me

• Tequipy, a London-based IT ops automation startup, raised €3m. Smedvig Ventures led, joined by Manta Ray and Unfold.vc. axios.link/4x4ciLE

• Otomato, a DeFi intelligence startup, raised $2m from Improbable. axios.link/4uwVxqB

• Apollo Global Management offered to acquire British heat treatment firm Bodycote (LSE: BOY) for £1.52b. axios.link/49QfQqE

🚑 Bregal Sagemount invested in LSPedia, a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based provider of compliance, traceability, and supply chain software for pharma. axios.link/4dQxXOz

• Cryptomathic, a portfolio company of The Riverside Co., agreed to acquire TrustSkills, a Danish provider of certificate lifecycle management software.

🚑 Curium, a French radiopharma company owned by CapVest Partners, offered to buy Bedford, Mass.-based rival Lantheus (Nasdaq: LNTH) for around $7b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wNHL4j

• Centerbridge Partners is in talks to buy around one-third of Baltimore-based commercial real estate firm Merritt Properties from Neuberger Berman at a $3b enterprise value (including debt), per the FT. axios.link/4nOCNAs

🚑 Frazier Healthcare Partners agreed to acquire Altruix, an Annapolis, Md.-based behavioral health pharmacy, from Windrose Health Investors, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4wVXQFt

• Oakley Capital agreed to acquire XTEL, a provider of revenue management and trade promotion software for CPG companies, from Bain Capital and SilverTree Equity. axios.link/4fFJVwO

🚑 Swoop, a health marketing firm owned by New Mountain Capital, acquired prescription management platform Nimble, per Axios Pro. Nimble had raised over $80m from VC firms like Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures, Four Rivers Group, Line Ventures, First Round Capital, Khosla Ventures, and YC. axios.link/4x95ufR

No major U.S. IPOs are expected to price this week.

• Applied Aerospace & Defense, a Huntsville, Ala.-based aerospace equipment maker owned by Greenbriar Equity, set IPO terms to 32.5m at $18-$21. It was formed last year via the merger of Applied Aerospace and PCX Aerospace, and would have a $3.33b market cap at the middle of its range. The company plans to list on the NYSE (AADX), while its pro forma 2025 financials include a $49m net loss on $604m in revenue. axios.link/4ezkXyM

• Cantor Equity Partners VII, the 16th SPAC formed by Cantor Fitzgerald, filed for a $250m IPO. axios.link/4nQapOk

• Doncasters, a British metal engineering group founded 250 years ago, filed for a U.S. IPO and plans to list on the NYSE (DPC). It reports a $173m net loss on $837m in revenue for 2025. axios.link/4dz4ry0

• Quantinuum, a Broomfield, Colo.-based quantum computing group being carved out of Honeywell, set IPO terms to 21m shares at $45-$50. It would have a $12b market cap, were it to price in the middle, and reports a $193m net loss on $31m in revenue for 2025. Quantinuum plans to list on the Nasdaq (QNT), while shareholders include Quanta Computer, NVentures, JPMorgan, Mitsui, and Amgen. axios.link/4a8aE1q

• First Carolina Financial Services, a Raleigh-based community bank with branches in four states, filed for an IPO and plans to list on the NYSE (FCBM). axios.link/4nKKd7B

• Safepoint, a Tampa-based property and casualty insurer focused on coastal areas, set IPO terms to 16.7m shares at $15-$17. It would have a $1.2b fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the NYSE (SFPT). axios.link/4o0eTC3

• Snow Rothschild Acquisition, a SPAC led by Ian Snow (CEO of Snow Phipps), filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/4v2BkZB

• Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining, a development-stage miner in Idaho, set IPO terms to 20m shares at $13.50-$16.50. It would have a $2.3b fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the NYSE (SSMR). axios.link/4dKvqp3

• WhiteHawk Minerals, a Philadelphia-based owner of natural gas mineral and royalty interests in the Marcellus and Haynesville Shales, set IPO terms to 6.9m shares at $25-$27. It would have a $678m fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the NYSE (WHK). Backers include Omega Capital Partners. axios.link/3Rm5k4l

• CDP Equity, an Italian state investor, plans to increase its stake in payments group Nexi to up to 29.9%. axios.link/4vdUxrx

🚑 Jardine Matheson (Sing: JARD) agreed to buy Australian medical imaging firm I-MED Radiology Network for A$3.4b from Permira. axios.link/4wPvVqz

⚡ Northern Oil & Gas (NYSE: NOG) agreed to pay C$350m for a 25% stake in oil-producing properties in Alberta from Parallax Energy, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4nQSXZV

• Rewe, a German supermarket operator, reportedly is weighing the sale of its Penny Market stores in Italy. axios.link/43utbBm

• Uber (NYSE: UBER) made an indicative takeover bid for the stake in Delivery Hero it doesn't already own, at over a €10b enterprise value. axios.link/3RuIZ4w

⚽ Underdog Global Partners is in talks to buy Italian soccer club SSC Napoli for around €2b from the De Laurentiis family, per The Athletic. axios.link/4v7uUbC

• Menlo Ventures is raising up to $250m for its second AI Leaders fund, per an SEC filing. axios.link/4dIfJ1o

• KKR promoted Angad Singh and Robert Recer to co-heads of software, as Americas software head John Park and software-focused managing director Bradley Brown plan to leave the firm.

• Brown is headed to Arsenal Capital Partners.

• Shlomo Mirvis, co-founder and former CEO of Intelligo, launched A10 Ventures, an Israeli firm focused on early-stage AI startups. axios.link/4dv0jil

SpaceX would have a higher price-to-sales ratio than any company in the S&P 500, were it to hits its targeted $1.75 trillion valuation. And it's not even close.

• I guess that's what happens when you claim a TAM that's only a hair below current U.S. GDP.