Today's column didn't come together in time, namely because my notes file is mimicking a magician's rabbit. So let's just do some quick hits instead:

⚖️ TikTok trial: The judges appeared skeptical of TikTok's arguments during yesterday's two-hour hearing on the "divest-or-ban" bill, particularly around issues of congressional authority. But you should never presume a judicial ruling by following the direction of pointed questions.

• More legal stuff: Bolt Financial tomorrow heads to Delaware Chancery Court over its controversial Series F financing proposal, after shareholders BlackRock and Hedosophia received a temporary restraining order against the deal.

❓Mystery solved: Insight Partners is planning to close on its 13th flagship fund in January, albeit well short of its original $20 billion target. And maybe even a bit short of its revised $12.5 billion target (let alone the $15b revised cap).

• What's always been odd abut this one is that Insight began raising it before the end of 2022, despite having closed on a firm record $20 billion for its 12th fund in February of that same year.
• A source explains that the quick turnaround was because one of Insight's larger limited partners had "use it or lose it" money in calendar 2022, so Insight accelerated its fundraising.

🏦 The FDIC today will vote on adopting stricter bank merger guidelines, with expectations that they will pass, while the NY Times reports that the DOJ also is planning to change how it evaluates the competitive impact of such transactions.

💰 New firm alert: Share Ventures has quietly held around a $17 million first close on its debut fund, which is targeting up to $50 million. Limited partners include Amazon and Google.

• Share was launched a couple of years ago as an LA-based venture studio by Hamet Watt, the MoviePass co-founder who later moved on to Upfront Ventures. The new fund will back both startups incubated inside the studio, plus other startups in areas like longevity and human performance.

🚑 Biotech bust The SEC on Friday settled with Silicon Valley biotech Zymergen, over "misleading IPO investors about its overall market potential, revenue prospects, and customer pipeline for its only commercially available product."

• Zymergen raised $500 million in that offering, at a $3.2 billion valuation. Just 15 months later, it agreed to be sold to Ginkgo BioWorks for less than $300 million.
• The company previously had raised over $1 billion in venture capital funding from firms like SoftBank Vision Fund (32.8% pre-IPO stake), True Ventures (10.4%) and DCVC (9.1%). None of the VC firms sold shares prior to the Ginkgo BioWorks acquisition, although all three did have representatives on the Zymergen board.

BP (LSE: BP) said that it will seek to sell its U.S. onshore wind business, which could fetch around $2 billion, as it refocuses its U.S. renewables business on solar.

Why it's the BFD: This reflects how solar capacity is quickly catching up to wind in the U.S., and may eventually surpass it, thanks to lower costs and installation complexity.

By the numbers: The portfolio includes nine wind farms in seven states, all controlled via a remote operating center in Houston, with 1.7 gigawatts of combined capacity (1.3 gigawatts net to BP).

• BP's announcement didn't mention onshore wind assets outside of the U.S., or what this means for current projects in development.

The bottom line: "The deal aligns with BP's pivot back to oil and gas under CEO Murray Auchincloss — a repudiation of predecessor Bernard Looney, who had aimed to make renewables a pillar of BP's energy business. Even so, BP's heart never seemed to be in onshore wind, not even ranking in the top 10 onshore wind energy producers in the U.S." — Alan Neuhauser, Axios Pro

• Hotel Engine, a Denver hospitality booking company, raised $140m in Series C funding at a $2.1b valuation led by Permira, per Fortune. axios.link/3MPEFHA

• Flink, a German quick-commerce startup, raised $115m in equity (plus $35m in debt), from Bond, Mubadala, Northzone, and REWE Group. axios.link/47rGX9h

🚑 Neo Medical, a Swiss developer of an AR system for spinal surgery, raised $68m in Series B funding led by Gyrus Capital. neo-medical.com

🚑 Nura Bio, a South SF-based biotech focused on debilitating neurological diseases, raised $68m in Series A extension funding led by insider Column Group. Other backers include Sanofi Ventures, Samsara Bio Capital, and Euclidean Capital. axios.link/4e7qSId

• Mangomint, an LA-based provider of salon and spa software, raised $35m in Series B funding. Altos Ventures led, and was joined by SaaStr Fund and OpenView Venture Partners. axios.link/3BadmFm

• Intezer, a New York-based autonomous security ops startup, raised $33m in Series C funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from insiders Intel Capital, OpenView, Magma, and Alon Cohen. intezer.com

• GreenLite, a New York construction permitting startup, raised $28.5m in Series A funding. Craft Ventures led, and was joined by 53 Stations, Trust Ventures, and LiveOak Ventures. greenlite.com

• Orb, an SF-based software billing platform, raised $25m in Series B funding. Mayfieldled, and was joined by Uncorrelated Ventures and insiders Menlo Ventures, Greylock Partners, South Park Commons, Basecase, and Scribble Ventures. axios.link/3ZtSQJU

• Every, an SF-based HR and spend management startup, raised $22.5m in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Okta Ventures, Base10 Partners, and Formus Capital. axios.link/4d3NtUV

• Wealth.com, a Gilbert, Ariz., estate planning startup, raised $20m in Series A funding. GV led, and was joined by Citi Ventures, Outpost Ventures, 53 Stations, and Firebolt Ventures. axios.link/3XLWjlQ

• Ledgebrook, a Boston specialty insurtech, raised $17m in Series B funding led by Duquesne, with participation from The Stephens Group, Brand Foundry Ventures, and American Family Ventures. axios.link/47BdutC

⚡ Nomad Solar Energy, a Spanish developer of mobile and off-grid solar generators, raised €15m from Tilt Capital Partners. nomadsolarenergy.es

• Cybord, an electronic component quality and traceability solution, raised $8.7m in Series A funding. Capri Ventures led, and was joined by Ocean Azul Partners and insiders IL Ventures and NextLeap Ventures. cybord.ai

🌎 Zevero, a London-based carbon accounting startup, raised $7m in seed funding. Spiral Capital led, and was joined by East Ventures. axios.link/3zpmC7V

• Supermaven, a New York code competition tool, raised $12m in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. axios.link/4enGQ0t

Smalt, a German talent startup focused on the energy transition, raised €8m in pre-seed funding. Noa led, and was joined by General Catalyst, Owl Ventures, and Heartfelt. smalt.eu

• Infinit, a DeFi abstraction protocol, raised $6m from Electric Capital, Mirana Ventures, Hashed, Faction, Robot Ventures, Nomad Capital, Bankless Ventures, Selini Capital, Tangent, and Presto Labs. axios.link/3ztPfAH

• Velou, an SF-based product catalog optimization startup, raised $5m in seed extension funding led by FUSE, per Axios Pro.

• Hydden, a New York-based identity visibility startup, raised $4.4m in seed funding led by Access Venture Partners. hydden.com

• VidLab7, a German provider of personalized video content solutions for sales teams, raised €3.5m in seed funding led by EQT Ventures. vidlab7.com

• Pickommerce, an Israeli warehouse automation startup, raised $3.4m. IL Ventures led, and was joined by InNegev, Fusion VC, Israel Innovation Authority, and ZIM Ventures. pickommerce.com

🚑 Symphera, a German developer of surgical systems for laparoscopic procedures, raised €2.4m in seed funding led by High-Tech Gründerfonds. axios.link/3ZvNNZh

• Achilles, a U.K. portfolio company of Bridgepoint, agreed to buy GoSupply, a Spanish supply chain management firm. achilles.com

• Agellus Capital recapitalized BlackPoint, a Kent, Wash., provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services. blackpoint-it.com

⚡ Apollo Global Management will pay $1b to BP (LSE: BP) for a 20% stake in a Caspian-region natural gas pipeline. axios.link/3XIKcG2

🏀 BC Partners and Saudi PIF each are seeking to buy a minority stake in Euroleague for around €1b, per the FT. axios.link/4d8KKcE

⚡ Carlyle agreed to acquire a minority stake in North Bridge, a provider of private credit to landlords for clean energy projects, and also committed up to $1b to help North Bridge make loans. axios.link/3XvzvFD

• Easy Metrics, a Bellevue, Wash., portfolio company of Nexa Equity, acquired TZA, a Naples, Fla., labor management company. easymetrics.com

• Luminate Capital acquired AbsenceSoft, a Golden, Colo.-based provider of leave management software, from Norwest. axios.link/3MP2AH2

🚑 Freeman Spogli acquired VIO Med Spa, a Strongsville, Ohio-based franchisor of full-service med spas. viomedspa.com

• Gearset, a Salesforce DevOps solutions company backed by Silversmith Capital Partners, acquired Clayton, a provider of app security and code quality solutions. gearset.com

• Heartwood Partners acquired Royal Products, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based maker of precision machine tool performance accessories. royalproducts.com

🚑 Serán Bioscience, a Bend, Ore.-based CDMO for pharma and biotech, raised $200m led by Bain Capital Life Sciences. seranbio.com

🚑 Guardian Pharmacy Services, an Atlanta provider of pharmacy services for long-term health care facilities, set IPO terms to 6.75m shares at $14-$16. It would have a $913m market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the NYSE (GRDN). Backers include Cardinal Equity Partners and Bindley Capital Partners. axios.link/3ZprsMY

• Moove Lubricants, a Brazilian auto lubricants business owned by Cosan, filed for an IPO that would see it list on the NYSE (MOOV). It reports $43m of net income on $904m in revenue for the first half of 2024. axios.link/3B4kpix

⚡ Prospect Energy Holdings, a clean energy SPAC, withdrew registration for a $300m IPO. axios.link/3XMYg1p

• Workday (Nasdaq: WDAY) agreed to buy Evisort, a a San Mateo, Calif.-based document intelligence platform that had raised over $150m from TCV, General Atlantic, M12, Amity Ventures and Vertex Ventures. evisort.com

• Farfetch, a subsidiary of Coupang (NYSE: CPNG), sold beauty e-commerce company Violet Grey back to founder Cassandra Grey. axios.link/3B6PrXe

• Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTRF), the parent company of FanDuel, agreed to buy Italian gambling company Snaitech for €2.3b from Playtech (LSE: PTEC). axios.link/3MLDf0L

• Standish Management acquired Core-CCO Services, a compliance firm focused on the private fund industry. standishmanagement.com

• Aurelius, a German buyout firm, reportedly is targeting more than €750m for its fifth European opportunities fund. axios.link/3MOHKrh

• Moderne Ventures of Chicago raised $230m for its third fund. axios.link/3XIVOca

• Patron, an SF-based VC firm focused on consumer startups, raised $100m for its second fund. LPs include Horsley Bridge, Marc Andreessen, and Ron Conway. patron.fund

• Nat Bacon joined Century Park Capital Partners as a principal. He previously was with P4G Capital. axios.link/3XKs6Dp

• Dana Covo joined HPS Investment Partners as an executive director. She previously was with RedBird Capital Partners. axios.link/3B8AHqU

• Felicis, an early-stage VC firm, promoted Jake Storm to general partner and Tobi Coker to partner. felicis.com

• Emily Henry joined Flexpoint Ford as a managing director of IR and capital formation. She previously was with BayPine. axios.link/3zna0Ou

• Hildred Capital Management promoted Ben Samit to managing director. axios.link/3zbrjSP

• Sháka Rasheed joined Open Opportunity Fund as a general partner. He previously was with Salesforce. axios.link/4eoYMrQ

• Terence Rozier-Byrd joined law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a New York-based partner focused on asset management. He previously was with Akin Gump. axios.link/3MNz3NO

• Ryan Schafer joined Monroe Capital as a VP. He previously was with NewSpring. axios.link/3Xl3bVy

• Steve Tipler joined Piper Sandler as a managing director of financial sponsors. He previously was with head of North American PE for Lazard. axios.link/4e1KKfV

Tupperware Brands is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as this week, as it's thus far been unable to renegotiate around $700 million in debt, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: The Orlando, Fla.-based company is iconic, in terms of both its food storage products and its direct sales strategy.

• As of 2022, the company still had 313,000 independent salespeople operating in nearly 70 countries, per an SEC filing.

The bottom line: Even if Tupperware fails, its design innovations will remain ubiquitous.