Venture capital's distribution blockade may be breaking down, at least a bit, thanks to some unicorns finally accepting that their ZIRP-era valuations were inflated.

Driving the news: Circle is expected to price IPOs this week, at a valuation below where it previously was valued by venture capitalists. Omada is expected to price just slightly higher.

• Chime yesterday launched its roadshow, with pricing expectations suggesting more than a 50% haircut to the $25 billion valuation it fetched n 2021.
• Hinge Health and eToro both recently went public below their private valuations.

The big picture: This is beginning to feel like a sea shift.

• For the past two years, most unicorns delayed IPOs until they could "grow into" their valuations. Some of this was to protect against dilution and to maintain employee morale, although ego also seemed to play an outsized role.
• There also were fears that public market investors would view valuation discounts as a sign of weakness, and drive share prices down even farther (i.e., deSPAC redux).
• Now, however, there's a cohort of companies that have decided to stop endlessly circling their destination. And they've been rewarded, often with upsized IPOs and strong aftermarket performance. Hinge and eToro, for example, are up 26.4% and 17.8% from their IPO prices, respectively.

Zoom in: Yes, some of these companies and later-stage investors might be getting some shove from clauses in structured deals, but that's par for the course after a valuation bubble.

Look ahead: The private markets often operate with a herd mentality, which means this recent IPO burst should have tailwinds; with an obvious caveat of macro economic disruptions.

• Not so much during the early summer, when bankers still like to vacation, but in the run between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

The bottom line: We've heard "wait 'til next half" for years when it comes to IPOs. This time it might actually turn out to be true.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS) will receive U.S. antitrust approval for its $1.5 billion purchase of British telecom testing firm Spirent Communications (LSE: SPT), after agreeing to divest three of Spirent's businesses.

Why it's the BFD: Remedies appear to be back, after a Biden-era antitrust regime that focused more on injunctions.

• Both at DOJ, which handled the Keysight/Spirent deal, and also at FTC, which last week applied structural remedies to approving the $35 billion merger of Synopsys and Ansys.

Zoom in: Viavi Solutions (Nasdaq: VIAV), which had tried and failed to buy Spirent, will acquire Spirent's high-speed Ethernet testing, network security testing, and RF channel emulation units.

The bottom line: "If competitive concerns are discrete and a robust carve-out is feasible, settlement is once again a realistic path to closing." — John Ceccio, antitrust attorney with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

• Infleqtion, a Boulder, Colo.-based quantum computing startup, raised $100m in Series C funding from backers like Glynn Capital, Counterpoint Global, S32, and SAIC. axios.link/45FjG4H

🚑 Prepared, an New York-based provider of emergency response tools, raised $80m. General Catalyst led, joined by insiders a16z, First Round Capital and Radical Ventures. axios.link/3ZbNSAq

⚡ Aerones, a Latvian provider of robotic inspection of wind turbines, raised $62m. Activate Capital and S2G Investments co-led, joined by Carbon Equity, Overlap Holdings and insiders Lightrock, Blume Equity, and Metaplanet. axios.link/43rgSXy

🚑 Antheia, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based manufacturer of a major Narcan ingredient, raised $56m in Series C funding, per Axios Pro. Global Health Investment Corp. and EDBI co-led, joined by Athos, Federov, Viking Global Investors, Sherpalo Ventures, S-Cubed Capital, In-Q-Tel, and Civilization Ventures. axios.link/3SymEQN

• Zero Networks, an Israeli cybersecurity startup focused on microsegmentation, raised $55m in Series C funding. Highland Europe led, joined by F2 Venture Capital, PICO Venture Partners, Venrock and USVP. axios.link/4dHTkAZ

• Voxel, an SF-based logistics safety startup, raised $44m in Series B funding led by NewRoad Capital Partners, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3HBItMW

• Nomupay, an Irish payments startup, raised $40m at a $290m valuation from SoftBank. axios.link/4jyUj8a

• Treefera, a British supply chain resilience startup, raised $30m in Series B funding led by Notion Capital. axios.link/4kqq1Wk

• Trustifi, a New York-based email cybersecurity startup, raised $25m in Series A funding led by Camber Partners. axios.link/3ZMKXhI

• Wordsmith AI, a Scottish developer of legal agents, raised $25m in Series A funding led by Index Ventures, with Scottish Enterprise participating. axios.link/3SxW62c

• Moments Lab, a French AI video discovery startup, raised $24m. Oxx led, joined by Orange Ventures, Kadmos, Supernova Invest, and Elaia Partners. axios.link/3HDG703

• OatFi, developer of a credit network for B2B payments, raised $24m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. White Star Capital led, joined by insiders Portage and QED. axios.link/4kl7SZR

🚑 Outcomes4Me, a Boston-based AI cancer care startup, raised $21m led by Salica Investments. axios.link/43VRvx3

• Labrys, a British developer of workforce management tools for high-risk environments, raised $20m in Series A funding. Plural led, joined by AlbionVC, Superangel, Project A, MDOne, Expeditions Fund, and Marque Ventures. axios.link/3FzuneE

• AccelerComm, a British wireless tech startup, raised $15m. IP Group led, joined by IQ Capital, Swisscom Ventures, and Bloc Ventures. axios.link/4jwnMPY

• Projectworks, a New Zealand-based intelligence platform for consultancies, raised US$12m in Series A extension funding led by Ten Coves Capital, with participation from Bridgewest Group and Punakaiki Fund. projectworks.com

• Rally UXR, a New York-based user research SaaS, raised $11m in Series A funding. Canapi Ventures led, joined by Stage 2 Capital and YC. rallyuxr.com

• Veris AI, a simulation platform for AI agents, raised $8.5m in seed funding co-led by Decibel Ventures and Acrew Capital. veris.ai

• Archil, developer of "the next foundational primitive for cloud storage," raised $6.7m in seed funding. Felicis led, joined by YC, Peak XV, Wayfinder, General Catalyst, Lombardstreet Ventures, and Twenty Two Ventures. archil.com

• Console, an AI startup seeking to automate mundane tasks for IT teams, raised $6.2m from Thrive Capital. axios.link/43D1HJv

• Freeplay, a platform for AI teams to build products and agents, raised $5.6m in seed funding. Renegade Partners led, joined by Conviction, Matchstick Ventures, Next Frontier Capital, PWV, and Vermillion Cliffs Ventures. freeplay.ai

• Atmen, a German reg-tech startup for industrial supply chains, raised €5m in seed funding. Project A led, joined by Revent and Vireo Ventures. axios.link/4knt8hA

Clara Home Care, an SF-based marketplace for hiring in-home senior caregivers, raised $3.1m in seed funding from Torch Captia, Virtue, and YC. clarahomecare.com

🌎 Lumoview Building Analytics, a German provider of building data capture for energy efficiency, raised €3m from Greencode Ventures, IBB Ventures, and WakeUp Capital. axios.link/43xRr5a

• Valla, a British employment rights legaltech, raised £2m in seed funding. Ada Ventures led, joined by Active Partners, Portfolio Ventures, Techstart Ventures, and Resolution Foundation. axios.link/3ZbIQnz

🚑 Accel-KKR acquired a majority stake in CareLineLive, a U.K.-based provider home care management software. carelinelive.com

• Babock Wanson Group, a French portfolio company of Ambienta, acquired Chr. Møller, a Danish provider of industrial boiler and thermal equipment services. axios.link/4jsjp8t

• Carlyle and Rabo Investments acquired SurePay, a Dutch provider of payment verification technology. Sellers include Connected Capital. axios.link/3Fvad5t

• Capitol Imaging Services, a Louisiana-based portfolio company of Clearview Capital, acquired Outpatient Imaging, an operator of nine imaging centers in Georgia. capitolimagingservices.com

• Confluence Point acquired Pleasantville, N.Y.-based residential re-roofing contractor Perry's Roofing. easternexteriorpartners.com

• FTV Capital agreed to acquire N2F, a French provider of spend management software whose backers include PSG Equity. n2f.com

• Infravadis, a European underground infrastructure maintenance platform backed by Oakley Capital, acquired a majority stake in Abfluss Schäfer Group, a German provider of sewage cleaning, pipe inspection and repair services. axios.link/3SAx16O

• O'Hara's Son Roofing, an Angeles Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Total Systems Roofing, a Crystal Lake, Ill.-based commercial roofer. totalsystemsroofing.com

• Regional Rail, a 3i-backed owner and operator of short-line freight railroads in North America, acquired Minnesota Commercial Railway. regional-rail.com

🐔 Roark Capital agreed to buy fast-casual chain Dave's Hot Chicken for around $1b. BFD flashback.

• Shore Capital Partners recapitalized portfolio company Sweetmore Bakeries. axios.link/451fnR1

• Voyager, a Denver-based aerospace and defense company, set IPO terms to 11m shares at $26-$28. It would have a $1.6b fully diluted valuation, were it to price in the middle, reports a $66m net loss on $144m in revenue for 2024, and plans to list on the NYSE (VOYG). axios.link/4kLikto

🚑 Hims & Hers (NYSE: HIMS) agreed to buy Zava, a London-based telehealth startup that had raised around $60m from firms like HPE Growth. axios.link/4jqtT8h

• Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD) completed its $200m acquisition of Bitstamp, a crypto exchange that had raised around $40m from firms like Pantera Capital and Ripple. axios.link/4dFZeCE

• Rosebank Industries (LSE: ROSE) restarted talks to acquire wire harness maker Electrical Components International for under $1.9b from Cerberus Capital Management. axios.link/43Dn4KH

• Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) acquired Moonhub, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based AI startup for employee vetting and hiring that had raised $10m from Khosla Ventures, GV, AIX Venture, Day One Ventures. axios.link/4kzqtBq

• Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) is paying around $250m to acquire Crunchy Data, a Charleston, S.C.-based provider of Postgres tech that had raised around $14m from Harbert Growth Partners, Heavybit, and Gray Ventures. axios.link/3ZbkA58

🚑 Aedifica (Brussels: AED) and Cofinimmo (Brussels: COFB) agreed to merge, creating Europe's largest health-care REIT. axios.link/3FDsRbi

• CallMiner, a Waltham, Mass-based customer interaction analytics platform that's raised over $150m in VC funding, acquired Vocalls, a Czech conversational AI. axios.link/43rS8hV

🚑 Merck (NYSE: MRK) held talks about buying Swiss biotech MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (Nasdaq: MLTX) for more than $3b, per the FT. axios.link/3Z9aFNl

⚡ Petronas, the Malaysian state energy firm, is weighing the sale of its Canadian unit, per Bloomberg. A deal could fetch up to $7b. axios.link/4mKOyaa

⚡ Viper Energy (Nasdaq: VNOM) agreed to acquire Sitio Royalties (NYSE: STR) for $4.1b in stock. axios.link/43WX5zc

• Goldman Sachs is marketing its 10th buyout fund with plans to raise more than $14.2b raised for Fund IX, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dJwTeX

• Thoma Bravo raised $34.4b for a trio of new funds: $24.3b for its 16th flagship buyout fund, $8.1b for its fifth midmarket fund, and €1.8b for its first Europe-focused fund. axios.link/3HoAAud

• Anastasia Amoroso joined Partners Group as a managing director and chief investment strategist for private wealth and retirement. She previously was with iCapital. axios.link/4dK9tWM

• Bob Diamond, the former Barclays boss who now lead Atlas Merchant Capital, joined Windrose Advisors as a strategic advisor. windroseadvisor.com

• Ashish Kakran joined Sierra Ventures as a partner. He previously was a partner with Thomvest Partners. axios.link/3SxDDTu

• Aren LeeKong, Carlyle's former head of direct lending, launched a new firm called Nine Dean with The Ford Foundation as its anchor investor. axios.link/4kP1gD4

🚑 Siobhan Nolan Mangini, a former exec with Castlight Health and NGM Biopharma, joined Venrock as partner. axios.link/4dJJyyf

• Kellie Metcalf stepped down as a managing partner with EnCap Investments, where she launched the firm's clean-energy strategy six years ago, per the WSJ. The move followed disagreements over strategy. axios.link/43OeN73

• Deirdre O'Connor stepped down as CFO at Cerberus Capital Management, and will be succeeded by finance manager Andrew Leitten, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dIAD02

• Eric Van Nostrand joined Lazard Asset Management as global head of markets and chief economist. He's a former BlackRock exec who most recently was the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for economic policy. axios.link/4mJIizn