The FTC has unanimously approved major changes to the pre-merger filing process, albeit fewer than originally proposed.

Why it matters: This will increase time and costs for parties in deals valued at more than $119 million, adding an estimated 68 hours to the response process, and are the most significant changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act since it became law more than 40 years ago.

Catch up quick: The FTC and Justice Department in June 2023 said that HSR needed to be modernized and streamlined, in order for them to more quickly and effectively determine when in-depth investigations are warranted.

• Their proposal was broad, and would have required parties to submit internal draft documents, detailed employee data, and longer lookback periods for past acquisitions.
• What followed was more than a year of comments and cutting, including all of the aforementioned provisions, resulting in a final rule that becomes effective in January.

The big changes: Parties will be required to provide new information on supply relationships and overlapping customer relationships, translate foreign language documents, provide documentation from the supervisory team lead, and more information on ownership structures (including private equity).

• The FTC also will allow the return of early termination requests, after having "temporarily"suspended them for past three-plus years.
• In short, consult your lawyers.

By the numbers: There were 1,805 transactions reported under the HSR Act in fiscal 2023, nearly one-quarter of which were valued at $1 billion or more.

What to watch: Separate litigation between DOJ and private equity giant KKR, over allegations that some of KKR's HSR filings in 2021 and 2022 weren't entirely accurate or complete.

• DOJ reportedly wants any settlement to include a requirement that all of the firm's HSR filings be signed by one of its co-CEOs, but the firm has pushed back hard because it believes such a stipulation would open up its co-CEOs to personal liability.
• If DOJ were to prevail, it could create a new precedent for private equity that's more consequential than even the new HSR rules.

Blackstone and TPG are prepping a joint takeover bid for Bausch + Lomb (NYSE: BLCO), a Bridgewater, New Jersey-based supplier of contact lenses and eye care products, per the FT.

Why it's the BFD: This could be one of the year's largest buyouts, with a likely value of between $13 billion and $14 billion, and probably should have happened several years ago.

• Blackstone and TPG had expressed interest in Bausch + Lomb before its debt-laden parent company, Bausch Health (NYSE: BHC), opted for an IPO in May 2022.
• The IPO priced low, and shares never reached the proposed range until the new FT report.

Behind the scenes: This also would be another huge M&A win for Bausch + Lomb CEO Brent Saunders, who sold Allergan to AbbVie for $63 billion just four years ago. He had been the eyecare company's CEO from 2010 to 2014, before reclaiming the reins in early 2023.

The bottom line: There had been early talk of a spinoff, rather than a sale, but Bausch Health lenders had objected.

• Path Robotics, a Columbus, Ohio-based developer of autonomous robotic welding systems, raised $100m. Matter Venture Partners and Drive Capital co-led, and were joined by Yamaha Ventures, Taiwania Capital, MediaTek, Catapult Ventures, Gaingels, Addition, Tiger Global, and Basis Set. path-robotics.com

🚑 Nuclera, a British protein manufacturing platform, raised $75m in Series C funding led by Elevage Medical Technologies. axios.link/4f4YmXP

⚡ Koloma, a Denver-based green hydrogen startup, raised $50m in Series B extension funding (structured as a SAFE note) from backers like Japan's Osaka Gas and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, per Axios Pro. axios.link/489ant5

• Galileo, an SF-based provider of generative AI evaluation and observability for enterprises, raised $45m in Series B funding. Scale Venture Partners led, and was joined by Premji Invest. galileo.ai

• Ghost, a B2B retail inventory marketplace, raised $40m in Series C funding, per Fortune. L Catterton led, and was joined by USV, Cathay Innovation, Equal Ventures, and Eniac Ventures. axios.link/4eKNjDi

⚡ REsurety, a Boston-based provider of data analytics for clean energy companies, raised $32m in Series C funding led by S2G Ventures. resurety.com

• Numeric, an SF-based accounting automation startup, raised $28m in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led, and was joined by IVP, Socii and insiders Founders Fund, Long Journey, 8VC, Friends & Family Capital, and Fifth Down. axios.link/3Ud2flt

• Monogoto, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of software-defined connectivity solutions, raised $27m in Series A funding. Toyota Ventures led, and was joined by Samsung Next, The ACTIVE Fund, Assembly Ventures, Magenta Venture Partners, J-Ventures, and insiders Triventures, Singtel Innov8 Ventures, Telefónica, Team8, and Alter Venture Partners. mogonoto.io

🌎 OroraTech, a German developer of satellite-based wildfire detection solutions, raised €25m in Series B funding from Korys, ECBF, and insider Bayern Kapital. axios.link/3UbVS1L

• Blue Stripes, a New York-based maker of consumer food products from cacao fruit, raised $20m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Zintinus led, and was joined by The Hershey Co., Whole Foods Market, DMG Ventures, Hamilton Lane, and Praesidium. axios.link/3NrTwYY

• Ithaca, a Layer 2 blockchain developer, raised $20m from Paradigm. axios.link/3YoxhJO

• Omnea, a London-based procurement platform, raised $20m in Series A funding. Accel led, and was joined by First Round Capital and Point Nine. axios.link/4eKe3E1

• Hello Cake, an LA-based sexual wellness brand, raised $18m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Silas Capital and Strand Equity co-led, and were joined by AF Ventures. axios.link/3NrTwYY

• Gladia, a French transcription and audio intelligence provider, raised $16m in Series A funding. XAnge led, and was joined by Illuminate Financial, XTX Ventures, Athletico Ventures, Gaingels, Mana Ventures, Motier Ventures, Roosh Ventures, and Soma Capital. glaida.io

• Lidwave, an Israeli developer of 4D-lidar-on-chip sensors, raised $10m in seed funding co-led by Jumpspeed Ventures and Next Gear Ventures. axios.link/4eVdsPO

• Constellation Technologies & Operations, a French developer of a satellite constellation for telecom operators, raised €9.3m from Expansion and Bpifrance. axios.link/4dM6rQ3

🌎 Aerieum, a French direct air capture startup focused on producing cargo ship fuel, raised $6m in seed funding. 360 Capital and HTGF co-led, and were joined by Bpifrance, Marble, and Norrsken. axios.link/4h85JiU

• Beyond Presence, a German developer of hyper-realistic avatars, raised $3.1m in pre-seed funding. HV Capital led, and was joined by 10x Founders and Alba VC. axios.link/3U8DoiM

🚑 Parakeet Health, an SF-based patient engagement startup, raised $3m in seed funding. Canvas Ventures led, and was joined by CoFound Partners and StoryHouse Ventures. parakeethealth.com

• FullyRamped, an SF-based sales simulation platform, raised $2.3m co-led by BoxGroup, MaC Venture Capital, and Nomo Ventures. fullyramped.com

• Accel-KKR invested in LeagueApps, a New York-based youth sports management platform. axios.link/3Nsmw2K

⚡ Allied Industrial Partners invested in JCL Energy, a Sharon, Pa., distributor of pad-mounted transformers. jcl.energy

• Apollo Global Management and movie studio Legendary Entertainment agreed to buy out Dalian Wanda Group's stake in Legendary. axios.link/4gYLpAy

• Bosideng, a Chinese maker and retailer of own coats, made a minority investment in Canadian outerwear brand Moose Knuckles, which is controlled by Cathay Capital. axios.link/4higDmD

• Contabilizei, a Brazilian provider of tax and accounting automation software for SMBs, raised $125m from Warburg Pincus. axios.link/3Yp8LIy

• DataBank, a Dallas-based data center operator, raised $2b in equity led by a $1.5b commitment from pension system AustralianSuper. databank.com

• Falfurrias invested in Neighborly Software, an Atlanta-based provider of SaaS for government program enrollment, administration, and reporting. neighborlysoftware.com

• Hellman & Friedman and Permira are among those kicking tires on JFrog (Nasdaq: FROG), an Israeli maker of software developer tools that had around a $3.3b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/400Ymnz

• Kline Hill Partners, a Greenwich, Conn., PE secondaries firm with more than $4.2b in AUM, is on the block, per Bloomberg. Suitors include Bridgepoint, Sixth Street, First Eagle Investment Management, and Tikehau Capital. axios.link/3BCKDcg

•MBK Partners bought a 5.34% stake in refined zinc smelter Korea Zinc, which it's been trying to acquire. Korea Zinc has been fighting the deal, and recently got some help from Bain Capital.

• Oaktree Capital agreed to buy a majority stake in the Great American appraisal business of B. Riley (Nasdaq: RILY) for $386m. axios.link/3zWkhBG

🚑 Odyssey Investment Partners is in advanced talks to buy Honeywell's (Nasdaq: HON) facemask and personal protective equipment unit for around $1.5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3U5r2ru

⚡ Shermco, an Irvin, Texas-based portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, acquired KTR Associates, a Sinking Spring, Pa., power system engineering company. shermco.com

• Sound Growth Partners acquired Stueve Construction, an Algona, Iowa-based provider of engineering and construction services for bulk fertilizer storage facilities. stueve.com

• Vocus, an Australian telco owned by Macquarie and Aware Super, agreed to sell the fixed-fiber network of TPG Telecom (ASX: TPG) for A$5.25b. axios.link/4gZ02nD

No major IPOs are expected to price this week on U.S. exchanges, although there could be a handful of SPAC and small-cap listings.

• Tokyo Metro, a Japanese subway and railroad operator. raised $2.3b in Japan's largest IPO in six years, pricing at the top of its range. axios.link/4gZ8h37

• Amplitude (Nasdaq: AMPL) acquired CommandAI, an SF-based software user experience startup, for $20m (net of cash). CommandAI (fka CommandBar) had raised around $23m from Insight Partners, Itai Tsiddon, Thrive Capital, and BoxGroup. amplitude.com

• Nordic Capital is exploring exit options for Swedish digital payments company Trustly, which could be worth around $10b in a sale or IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dPeLyB

• Crane NXT (NYSE: CXT) agreed to buy the authentication arm of British banknote printer De La Rue (LSE: DLAR) for £300m. axios.link/3UaK67V

• Frasers Group (LSE: FRAS) upped its big for British handbag maker Mulberry (LSE: MUL) to £111m, after its initial £83m offer was rejected. axios.link/3U5QZY9

• InPost (Ams: INPST) is in advanced talks to buy the 70% stake it doesn't hold in British logistics firm Menzies, per Sky News. It bought an initial 30% position last year for £49m. axios.link/4eFwYjx

🚑 Inventiva (Nasdaq: IVA), a developer of therapies for treating MASH, secured 94.1m that could expand to 348m. NEA, BVF Partners, and Samsara BioCapital co-led, and were joined by Andera Partners, Deep Track Capital, Eventide Asset Management, Great Point Partners, Invus, Perceptive Advisors, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, and Sofinnova. axios.link/3BIMw7z

🚑 Lundbeck of Denmark agreed to buy La Jolla, Calif.-based epilepsy medicine maker Longboard Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LBPH) for upwards of $2.5b in cash, or $60 per share. axios.link/3YyT29X

🚑 Vanda Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VNDA) rejected a sweetened $488m takeover approach from U.K.-based Cycle Pharmaceuticals. axios.link/3BHfMv7

🚑 Clinical Care Medical Centers, a Miami-based primary care system owned by Sun Capital Partners, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it would sell itself to an affiliate of Humana (NYSE: HUM). axios.link/3UdwMQ7

• True Value, a Chicago-based home improvement retailer and wholesaler backed by Acon Investments, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and received a stalking horse bid from Indiana's Do It Best Corp. axios.link/3NqlwME

• 20VC, a London-based VC firm led by Harry Stebbings, raised $400m for its third fund. axios.link/4f6NJUC

• Adams Street Partners raised $1.2b for its fourth set of VC fund-of-funds and direct investing vehicles. axios.link/3NqmcBG

• Buckley Ventures is raising up to $250m for its fourth fund, per an SEC filing.

🚑 Forbion, a Dutch biotech investor, raised €1.2n for a new growth fund and €890m for a new early-stage fund. axios.link/3NvfutS

• General Atlantic is raising its second continuation fund, per an SEC filing. It raised more than $3b for its first continuation fund in 2021.

• Insight Partners raised around $1.5b for its third continuation fund.

🚑 SR One Capital, a life sciences-focused VC firm, is raising up to $600m for its third independent fund since spinning out of GSK in 2020, per an SEC filing.

• Moshe Bajnon joined Nuveen Private Capital as global head of private wealth. He previously was a partner with Ares Management. axios.link/489Dtby

• James Butcher left Moelis & Co., where he worked with media and telecom companies, to join Solomon Partners as a tech-focused managing director. axios.link/4f3t9En

• Steven Colby, former CEO of HyperKey, joined DoubleStar Venture Partners as a venture partner. axios.link/3BHwoD3

• Edward Delanoy joined Moelis & Co. as VP of investment banking in the firm's financial sponsors group. He previously was with Citi. axios.link/3NpMlR2

🚑 Axel Herberg (ex-Blackstone) and Francesco Granata (3B Future co-founder) both joined Warburg Pincus as senior advisers to its European business and global health care group. axios.link/4eJx35J

• Paris Heymann joined JPMorgan as co-managing partner of VC and growth equity. He previously was a partner with Index Ventures. axios.link/3A3esSX

• Ashwin Lalendran (ex-Phantom Auto) and Chris Wu (Hims & Hers) both joined Moxxie Ventures. axios.link/3Y0Xnky