SolarWinds is at the heart of what might be the most significant cybersecurity breach in U.S. history, as hackers used an exploit in its system to possibly access everything from the National Nuclear Security Administration to most of the U.S. Fortune 500.

• What's new: The IT vendor is (belatedly) pushing back against suggestions that its two largest investors engaged in insider trading ahead of the hack revelations.

The history: Texas-based SolarWinds was taken private in 2016 for $4.5 billion by private equity firms Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo. It then completed an IPO in October 2018.

• In August 2020 SolarWinds announced plans to hire a new CEO.
• On Dec. 7, Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo sold around $315 million in SolarWinds stock to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The two firms retained equity positions and seats on the SolarWinds board of directors.
• On Dec. 8, U.S. cybersecurity company FireEye disclosed that it had been hacked, likely by a government.
• On Dec. 9, SolarWinds named its new CEO.
• On Dec. 14 came reports that both the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments had been hacked, with FireEye publicly identifying SolarWinds for the first time.
• SolarWinds on Dec. 14 acknowledged it "has been made aware" of the hack, but declined to say when. One day later, the Washington Post published a story questioning the stock sales.

All of which leads us to yesterday, when SolarWinds put more details on its calendar.

• Per an 8-K filing, SolarWinds says its CEO was first informed of the situation, by FireEye, on Dec. 12.
• SolarWinds doesn't say when the board, including Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo reps, were informed, but the implication is that it couldn't have been before the 12th. If so, the trades were clean and CPPIB simply has a case of awful luck, as SolarWinds stock is down 26% on the week.

In a statement, the private equity firms said: “Thoma Bravo and Silver Lake were not aware of this potential cyberattack at SolarWinds prior to entering into a private placement to a single institutional investor on 12/7.”

• A CPPIB spokesman declined to comment on if the system was aware of SolarWinds' CEO hire when closing its purchase.

The bottom line: Expect U.S. securities regulators to trust but verify.

Go deeper: Cyberhack looks like an act of war

Source: Giphy

Poshmark, a P2P used clothing marketplace, filed for a $100 million IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (POSH) with Morgan Stanley as left lead underwriter.

• Why it's the BFD: This sets Poshmark up to be one of the first floats of 2021, alongside Affirm and Roblox, with investors able to bet on yet another online marketplace that's benefitted from the pandemic (after overcoming early logistics issues).

• Financials: Poshmark flipped to its first ever quarterly profit in Q2 2020, reporting $21 million of net income for the first nine months of 2021 — versus a $34 million net loss for the year-earlier period. Revenue was up 28% over that same period.
• ROI: Redwood City, Calif.-based Poshmark raised around $160 million in VC funding from Mayfield (26.5% pre-IPO stake), Menlo Ventures (15.8%), Inventus Capital (10.4%), GGV Capital (7.9%), Uncork Capital, Temasek, NFX, and Union Grove Ventures.
• Bottom line: "Poshmark provides a marketplace to buy and sell high-end clothes harvested from closets. The company, whose website allows shoppers to exchange comments on products, has been at the forefront of the online shopping trend known as social commerce." — Michael Hytha, Bloomberg

Source: Giphy

Axios agreed to acquire Charlotte Agenda, a North Carolina-based digital media company, as part of our new push into local news coverage.

• Why is there a second BFD? Shameless self-promotion.
• Axios Local launches soon in Charlotte, Denver, Des Moines, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tampa/St. Petersburg. Sign up here.
• Bottom line: "For its local expansion, Axios plans to staff two people in each new city who will pull together a daily morning newsletter, and hopes to add staff in all cities over time. Technology, editing and other support will be centralized at Axios headquarters to keep costs down." — Edmund Lee, NY Times

• Spryker, a German provider of e-commerce tools to B2B companies, raised $130 million at a valuation north of $500 million. TCV led, and was joined by return backers One Peak and Project A Ventures. http://axios.link/58RF

🚑 Neurogene, a New York-based biotech focused on inherited neurological diseases like Batten disease, raised $115 million in Series B funding. EcoR1 Capital led, and was joined by BlackRock, Janus Henderson Investors, Casdin Capital, Avidity Partners, Ascendant BioCapital, Arrowmark Partners, Alexandria Venture Investments and insiders Redmile Group, Samsara BioCapital and Cormorant Asset Management. http://axios.link/5Hri

• Discord, a San Francisco-based chat platform, raised $100 million at nearly a $7 billion valuation. http://axios.link/MXSV

🚑 H1, a professional networking platform for healthcare workers, raised $58 million co-led by IVP and return baker Menlo Ventures. http://axios.link/VEmg

• CoachHub, a Berlin-based digital business coaching platform, raised $30 million. Draper Esprit led, and was joined by insiders HV Capital, Partech, Speedinvest, signals Venture Capital and RTP Global. http://axios.link/xESG

• Rec Room, a Seattle-based social gaming platform, raised $20 million in Series C funding. Madrona Venture Group led, and was joined by First Round Capital, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and DAG Ventures. http://axios.link/uh6r

• PostHog, a San Francisco-based open source product analytics platform, raised $12 million in Series A funding. GV led, and was joined by YC Continuity Fund. http://axios.link/QItG

• Avenue 8, a mobile-first residential real estate brokerage, raised $4 million in seed funding from Craft Ventures, Zigg Capital and Good Friends. www.avenue8.com

• Whatnot, a Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based marketplace for Funko figurines and other collectibles, raised $4 million in seed funding from Scribble Ventures, Operator Partners, Wonder Ventures and YC. http://axios.link/dQZK

• Walnut, a "Wix for sales teams," raised $3.5 million from SV Angel and A.Capital. http://axios.link/ZwAw

• V7 Labs, a U.K.-based computer vision platform for training data workflows, raised $3 million in seed funding. Amadeus Capital Partners led, and was joined by Partech, Air Street Capital and Miele Venture. http://axios.link/yz2K

• Umba, an Africa-focused digital bank, raised $2 million in seed funding from Lachy Groom, Ludlow Ventures, Frontline Ventures and Act Venture. http://axios.link/tUGB

• Orbit Fab, a San Francisco-based developer of in-orbit refueling solutions, raised new seed funding from MunichRe Ventures. http://axios.link/Grom

🚑 Lyra Health, a Burlingame, Calif.-based provider of mental health care benefits for employers, is raising up to $175 million at a $2.25 billion valuation, per a Delaware filing. In August it announced $110 million in Series D funding at a $1.1 billion valuation led by Addition. http://axios.link/OtSK

• The Blackstone Group is in talks to buy British private jet company Signature Aviation (LSE: SIG) for more than £3 billion, per the FT. http://axios.link/VGPT

• Euskaltel, a Spanish regional telco, reportedly received bids for up to a 49% stake in its broadband network unit from First Sentier Investors, Infravia Capital Partners and Fiera Capital. http://axios.link/qSag

• Marlin Equity Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in StarCompliance, a Rockville, Md.-based provider of employee compliance and regulatory technology solutions to the financial services industry, from Luminate Capital Partners (which will retain a minority position). www.starcompliance.com

🚑 Verily, a life sciences research and engineering organization formed by Google parent Alphabet, raised $700 million from existing backers Alphabet, Silver Lake, Temasek and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. http://axios.link/s8DC

• Coinbase, a San Francisco-based digital currency platform, said it filed confidential IPO papers with the SEC. The company has raised over $500 million in VC funding, most recently at an $8 billion valuation. http://axios.link/WdGv

• UiPath, a New York-based developer of robotic process automation software, said it filed confidential IPO papers with the SEC. It's raised in VC funding, most recently at a $10.2 billion valuation. http://axios.link/CMsC

🚑 908 Devices, a Boston-based maker of mass spectrometry devices for scientific research, raised $130 million in its IPO. It priced at $20 per share (above upwardly-revised range), for an initial market cap of $519 million, and will trade on the Nasdaq (MASS). The company raised nearly $90 million from firms like Arch Venture Partners (23.2% pre-IPO stake), Razor's Edge Ventures (8.3%), Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (5.4%) and UTEC (5.1%). http://axios.link/8lpm

• Altimeter Growth Corp. 2, a tech-focused SPAC formed by Altimeter Capital, filed for a $200 million IPO. http://axios.link/01z3

• Dune Acquisition, a SaaS-focused SPAC formed by delta2 Capital, raised $150 million in its IPO. http://axios.link/wPde

• Golden Falcon Acquisition, a TMT-focused SPAC, raised $300 million in its IPO. http://axios.link/DnMJ

• Hamilton Lane Alliance I, a SPAC formed by Hamilton Lane, filed for a $200 million IPO. http://axios.link/Yb5K

• INSU Acquisition III, an insurance-focused SPAC formed by Cohen & Co., raised $218 million in its IPO. http://axios.link/30ut

• LightJump Acquisition, a a tech-focused SPAC formed by LightJump Capital, filed for a $100 million IPO. http://axios.link/Gjan

🚑 MedTech Acquisition, a medtech-focused SPAC, raised $220 million in its IPO. The SPAC’s CFO is David Matlin, co-founder of MatlinPatterson Global Advisers. http://axios.link/YnBl

• Seven Oaks Acquisition, an ESG-focused SPAC, raised $225 million in its IPO. http://axios.link/mY4Y

• ScION Tech Growth I, a tech-focused SPAC formed by ION Investment Group, raised $500 million in its IPO. http://axios.link/C7tU

• New Mountain Capital is exploring a sale or IPO for Atlanta-based cleaning products company Zep, which could fetch around $3 billion, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/EJ7B

• Boral (ASX: BLD) agreed to sell its North America-focused Meridian Brick unit to Austrian brickmaker Wienerberger for $250 million. http://axios.link/sY4l

• International Consolidated Airlines (LSE: IAG) agreed to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa for €500 million in payments deferred until 2026, per El Confidencial. http://axios.link/tn0K

🚑 Model N (Nasdaq: MODN) agreed to acquire Deloitte’s life sciences pricing and contracting business, for $60 million in cash. www.modeln.com

🚑 Novozymes, a listed Danish industrial enzymes company, agreed to buy Glenview, Ill.-based probiotics firm Microbiome Labs for $125 million. http://axios.link/EPMl

• PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) offered to buy listed Finnish paint producer Tikkurila for €1.1 billion. http://axios.link/Vpnu

🚑 Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG) agreed to buy BioTelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT), a Malvern, Penn.-based cardiac diagnostics and monitoring company, for $2.8 billion, or $72 per share (16.5% premium to Tuesday’s closing price). http://axios.link/TbrO

• Siemens is restarting efforts to sell its postal and airport logistics unit, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/30vE

• Tencent is doubling its stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music Group to 20%, valuing the label at €30 billion. http://axios.link/BeaA

• Equip Capital, a Nordic private equity firm, raised €180 million for its debut fund focused on the consumer, industrials and business services sectors. www.eqip.no

• Anthemis, a fintech-focused VC firm, promoted Matthew Jones to managing director and Elise Brown to director of marketing. www.anthemis.com

• Ned Desmond, former COO of TechCrunch, joined venture firm SOSV as a senior operating partner. http://axios.link/E07v

• Skip Kelly joined J.P. Morgan as a managing director on the VC coverage team. He previously was with Silicon Valley Bank. www.jpmorgan.com

• L2 Capital Partners promoted Connor McMahan and Lorin Cassidy Wolfe to partner and hired Nick Irion (ex-ABS Capital Partners) as VP. www.l2capital.net

🚑 Manna Tree promoted Brent Drever to president, Pamela Shepherd to managing director and said IR head Allyson Patterson will also serve as chief compliance officer. www.mannatreepartners.com

• Antoine Onfray joined France's Tikehau Capital as CFO. He previously was group deputy CFO at listed real estate firm Paref. www.tikehaucapital.com

Conventional wisdom is that divided government is good for business, because it is more likely to produce gridlock than is unified government. But eFront reports, ahead of the Georgia Senate runoffs, that private equity performance outperformed when the White House and Congress were controlled by the same party.

eFront also found that, over the past 20 years:

• Average TVPI performance was superior with Democratic presidents.
• Average quarterly IRRs were superior with Republican presidents.