The U.S. Steel saga is entering its ludicrous era, more than 17 months after the Pittsburgh-based company agreed to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel for around $15 billion.

Why it matters: None of this is working the way it's supposed to, and the chaos has opened the door for potential impropriety.

Catch up quick: President Trump on Friday announced via Truth Social that there "will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel."

• U.S. Steel followed that up with a statement praising Trump and mirroring his "partnership" language.
• The implication was that Trump had signed off on the merger — which had been blocked by former President Biden on national security grounds —shortly after the conclusion of a new CFIUS review into national security concerns.
• U.S. Steel shares shot higher, while shares of rival Cleveland Cliffs sank.

Zoom in: Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) put more meat on the bones this morning, telling CNBC that the agreement would include a U.S. CEO for U.S. Steel, a majority U.S. board and a "golden share" that would give the U.S. government approval of some board member appointments.

• Nippon Steel also committed to invest around $14 billion into U.S. Steel, as we discussed last week.

Yes, but: U.S. Steel hasn't disclosed any of those details to investors, with its last securities filing coming more than two weeks ago. Nor has it even confirmed that the "partnership" still includes the $55 per share takeover price.

• Yet U.S. Steel shares began trading this morning on the New York Stock Exchange, whose guidelines for listed companies include efforts to "ensure timely disclosure of information that may affect security values or influence investment decisions, and in which shareholders, the public and the Exchange have a warrantable interest."
• Public company mergers almost always present the opportunity for insider trading, but this one seems particularly prone.
• Axios has been unable to get comment from NYSE on why U.S. Steel shares haven't been halted.

Zoom in: One giant question mark is around that $14 billion investment commitment from Nippon.

• A source familiar with the situation says that Nippon's earlier (and smaller) investment promises were largely cancelable without cause, and it's hard to see how the board of a U.S. subsidiary would be able to demand money from the Japanese parent — with or without a "golden share."
• That means the agreement language is paramount. But, again, U.S. Steel is keeping its trap shut.

The bottom line: The rules for cross-border dealmaking are being rewritten in real time. And in the dark.

Tencent of China is acquiring a 9.7% stake in listed South Korean music firm SM Entertainment Co. from K-pop agency Hybe for around $177 million.

Why it's the BFD: This is the latest indication that mainland China plans to lift its unofficial ban on K-pop and other forms of Korean entertainment.

• Tencent operates several large online music platforms in China, which had been a major K-pop consumer before the ban.

The bottom line: "China started to restrict the distribution of Korean ... pop culture in 2016 in retaliation to South Korea's deployment of U.S. THAAD missile defense systems. Although Beijing has never officially acknowledged the ban, very few Korean movies or dramas have been released in Chinese cinemas or on streaming platforms and K-pop artists have not been allowed to perform in the country." — Liz Shackleton, Deadline

🚑 Jane Software, a Canadian provider of practice management software, is in talks to raise at least C$500m at a C$1.8b valuation led by TCV, with JMI Equity and Tidemark also participating, per The Globe & Mail. axios.link/3FAfKaG

🚑 GlycoEra, a Swiss developer of extracellular protein degraders for treating autoimmune diseases, raised $130m in Series B funding. Novo Holdings led, joined by Catalio Capital Management, LifeArc Ventures, QIA, Sixty Degree Capital, Agent Capital, MP Healthcare Venture Management and insiders Sofinnova Partners, 5AM Ventures, Roche Ventures, and Bristol Myers Squibb. axios.link/3FAebJQ

🚑 Salvia BioElectronics, a Dutch developer of neuromodulation therapies for migraines, raised $60m in Series B funding. Innovation Industries led, joined by Invest-NL, the EIC Fund and insiders Inkef, Panakès Partners, SHS Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, Brabant Development Agency, and Thuja Capital. axios.link/3H8rAcR

• Pallet, a Fremont, Calif.-based transportation and warehouse software startup, raised $27m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. General Catalyst led, joined by Bain Capital Ventures, Activant Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners. axios.link/43z4BPs

• Volare, a Finnish sustainable insect protein producer, raised €26m in equity and debt funding from Maki.vc, Firstminute Capital, Springvest, Finnish Climate Fund, Finnvera, and Norion Bank. axios.link/4kuEd06

• Superblocks, a New York-based enterprise app development startup, raised $23m in new Series A funding from Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, Greenoaks, and Meritech Capital. superblocks.com

🚑 Hedera Dx, a Swiss cancer care startup, raised €15m in Series A funding. Vsquared Ventures led, joined by Tesi, Helsana HealthInvest, Eyrir Venture Management, Inventure, and Top Harvest. axios.link/4jnEQHI

⚡ Gridcare, a Redwood City, Calif., developer of software for detecting underutilized energy sources, raised $13.5m, per Axios Pro. Xora led, joined by Aina Climate AI Ventures, Sherpalo Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Overture Ventures, WovenEarth, Acclimate Ventures, Clearvision, and Clocktower Ventures. axios.link/3HeGj5S

• SpAItial, a German developer of AI-native 3D apps, raised $13m in seed funding. Earlybird VC led, joined by Speedinvest. axios.link/4dzREcH

• Gail, a Miami-based provider of AI solutions for the financial services sector, raised $8.2m in seed funding. HTwenty and Act One Ventures co-led, joined by Mangusta Capital, NextView Ventures, and A15. meetgail.com

🚑 Surgify Medical, a Finnish developer of bone-cutting tech for surgery, raised €7m in Series A funding. Zeiss Ventures led, joined by EIC Fund, Lednil, and Cascara Ventures. axios.link/43z5NlU

🚑 Hormona, a U.K.-based provider of at-home hormone testing for women, raised £5m in seed funding co-led by Volma Ventures and SuperNode Global VC. hormona.io

• Way Data Technologies, fleet management startup, raised €2.6m in pre-seed funding led by Pale blue dot. axios.link/3Z1py4m

• Ascent Equity Partners is working with South Korean retailer Shinsegae Group on a $208m takeover bid for listed South Korean cosmetics manufacturer C&C International, per KED. axios.link/4dwI2zs

• BetaNXT, a New York-based wealth-tech firm owned by Clearlake Capital Group and Motive Partners, acquired Delta Data, a Columbus, Ga.-based provider of investment fund solutions. betanxt.com

• Breakwater Management acquired a majority stake in Atlanta-based marketing agency Chemistry. axios.link/3ZDkJ18

• Bridgepoint entered into exclusive talks to acquire Finzzle Groupe, a French wealth management consultancy. axios.link/4dvaYb8

• Cerberus expressed interest in purchasing the lease for Australia's Port of Darwin from China's Landbridge Group, per Bloomberg. axios.link/45tTeuK

🚑 Coalesce Capital acquired a majority stake in DAS Health, a Tampa, Fla., provider of health-care IT solutions from Sheridan Capital Partners (which will retain a minority position). dashealth.com

• Gemspring Capital agreed to buy the majority of Goodyear's (Nasdaq: GT) chemicals business for around $650m. axios.link/4kcZ0pl

• Intelligent Technical Solutions, a Las Vegas-based portfolio company of Tower Arch Capital, acquired Black Breach, an Atlanta-based provider of managed cybersecurity and compliance services. itsasap.com

• Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners completed their $195m acquisition ofr etailer The Vitamin Shoppe from Franchise Group. axios.link/3FsbNVw

• KSL Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Soneva Group, an operator of resorts in the Maldives. axios.link/4kwcQ5D

• Limerston Capital acquired CyberCrowd, a British cybersecurity firm. cybercrowd.co.uk

• Littlejohn & Co. agreed to buy Irving, Texas-based railroad engineering firm RailPros from Court Square Capital Partners, per PE Hub. axios.link/3HdMebt

• Movendo Capital and Draycott acquired French perfume bottle maker Versescence from Stirling Square Capital Partners. axios.link/43w0qUF

🚑 ProgenyHealth, a Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based maternity and NICU care management company, raised growth funding from Sunstone Partners and Cressey & Co. progenyhealth.com

• Protective Industrial Products, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, completed its previously announced purchase of Honeywell's (Nasdaq: HON) personal protective equipment business for over $1.3b in cash. axios.link/45qP4nn

• Terlos agreed to buy gelato maker Casa Optima from Charterhouse Capital Partners. axios.link/3Ht1i4Q

No companies are expected to price IPOs this week on U.S. exchanges.

🚑 Aurion Biotech, a Seattle-based developer of regenerative therapies for vision loss, withdrew IPO registration after selling a majority stake to Alcon Research (Swiss: ALC). It had raised over $200m from firms like Deerfield Management, Petrichor Healthcare Capital Management, Flying L Partners, Falcon Vision and Visionary Ventures. aurionbiotech.com

🚑 Caris Life Sciences, an Irving, Texas-based precision medicine company focused on cancer, filed an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $300m. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (CAI) and raised over $1.86b — including an $830m round in 2021 at a $7.8b valuation led by Sixth Street. axios.link/4dvQP4F

• Slide Insurance, a Tampa, Fla.-based home insurer, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $300m. It reports $201m of net income on $847m in revenue for 2024, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (SLDE). axios.link/45qNy4F

• AA Ltd., the British auto breakdown service, hired banks to prep a 2026 sale or IPO, per Sky News. Backers include Towerbrook Capital Partners, Warburg Pincus, and Stonepeak Partners. axios.link/3SRb8jx

• Denso (Tokyo: 6902) is in advanced talks to buy Axia, a Dutch seed supplier backed by Temasek, for around $500m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/43d4xWM

• Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) will pay around $8b in cash to acquire Informatica (NYSE: INFA), a data management software firm. axios.link/4mwZPKT

• Harmony Gold Mining of South Africa agreed to buy MAC Copper (NYSE: MTAL) for just over $1b in cash, or $12.25 per share (21% premium to Friday's closing price). axios.link/3Hfr9gF

• Hensoldt, a listed German defense-tech company, is seeking to sell its South African optronics business, per Reuters. axios.link/3ZAmE6y

• WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) agreed to buy Texas-based supply chain management SaaS e2open (NYSE: ETWO) for $2.1b, or $3.30 per share. axios.link/43NYBDG

⚡ C5 Capital of London is raising $750m for a growth equity fund focused on the nuclear energy supply chain, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4mAi7Lu

• FundersClub, an SF-based VC firm, is raising $176m for its fourth fund. per an SEC filing.

• tmr vc, a crypto venture firm led by Lucas He, is raising $40m for its debut fund, per an SEC filing.

• Zeal Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based VC firm, raised $82m for its second fund. zealcapitalpartners.com

• Levine Leichtman Capital Partners named Michael Weinberg and Matthew Frankel as co-chairs of the PE firm's investment committee. llcp.com

• Raj Paranandi joined Hayfin as COO. He previously was with MarketAxess and succeeds Mark Tognolini, who's become Hayfin's co-CEO alongside Tim Flynn. axios.link/3FrWQmu