Private equity keeps inching closer to college sports, and now has a bit more certainty around its modeling.

Driving the news: A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement that sets the stage for schools to pay their student-athletes.

• Each school will be allowed to share up to $20.5 million in revenue, mostly with football players. That cap is expected to rise annually.
• The settlement also provides $2.8 billion in restitution to former student-athletes, and allows schools to create mechanisms to limit the influence of outside boosters and "collectives" — although questions remain about the effectiveness and enforcement of such oversight.
• For more context, check out our Axios BFD conversation last fall with NCAA president Charlie Baker.

The big picture: The settlement gives both schools and investors much more economic clarity, which could lead to dealmaking.

• Particularly in better understanding the haves and have-nots, as only a relatively small handful of colleges are likely to spend up to the $20.5 million limit.
• Expect a lot of private investment to help finance new facilities and develop luxe fan experiences. Similar to an expanded investment partnership announced yesterday — albeit negotiated prior to the settlement approval — between sports and entertainment agency Elevate, Velocity Capital Management, and the Texas Permanent School Fund.

Yes, but: Media rights is among the biggest revenue drivers for college sports, and most of that is negotiated at the conference level.

The bottom line: The NCAA settlement isn't a gamechanger for private equity, but it does move the yardsticks.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) paid $439 million to complete its purchase of Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) stake in streaming service Hulu.

Why it's the BFD: This is $439 million more than Disney wanted to pay, but it might have gotten off easy.

• The Mouse initially paid $8.6 billion for the 33% stake in 2023, but later entered arbitration with Comcast over Hulu's fair market value — to determine if it would need to pay more.
• Disney argued that it should be done, but also warned investors that Comcast could be awarded up to $5 billion.

The bottom line: "This finally puts Hulu in the hands of just one owner, after years of complicated ownership structures." — Sara Fischer, Axios

• Horizon3.ai, an autonomous security startup, raised $100m in Series D funding, per Axios Pro. NEA led, joined by SignalFire, Craft Ventures, and 9Yards Capital. axios.link/3TmhO9v

• Laurel, an AI timekeeping startup, raised $100m in Series C funding. IVP led, joined by GV. laurel.ai

• Linear, a project management tool, raised $82m in Series C funding at a $1.25b valuation. Accel led, joined by Seven Seven Six, Designer Fund and insiders Sequoia Capital and 01A. axios.link/3ZZrlan

• Tastewise, an Israeli marketing platform for food and beverage companies, raised $50m in Series B funding led by Telus Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4ks1srY

• Holidu, a German vacation rental platform, raised €46m. Key1 Capital led, joined by Vintage Investment Partners, Prime Ventures, and 83North. It concurrently acquired French rival Cybevasion. axios.link/43BPLsR

• Maze, a London-based cloud security startup, raised $25m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Theory Ventures led, joined by insiders Cherry Ventures and Tapestry VC. axios.link/43XzI7G

• Swimlane, an AI hyperautomation security startup, raised $45m in growth equity co-led by Energy Impact Partners and Activate Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3HspFjt

• Hypernative, a provider of threat prevention for crypto companies, raised $40m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Ten Eleven Ventures and Ballistic Ventures co-led, joined by StepStone Group, Boldstart Ventures, and IBI Tech Fund. axios.link/4k23Zs5

• Aiera, an investor event intelligence startup, raised $25m in Series B funding from ten Wall Street banks and Third Bridge. aiera.com

• Nooks, a Crystal City, Va.-based provider of secure access to classified facilities, raised $25m in Series A funding from Zigg Capital, Upper90, SAIC, and Lockheed Martin. axios.link/3ZpWXWu

• Noah, a stablecoin payment network, raised $22m in seed funding from LocalGlobe, Felix Capital, and FJ Labs. axios.link/4l2if4U

• Sintra, a Lithuanian developer of AI solutions for SMEs, raised $17m in seed funding. Earlybird VC led, joined by Inovo and Practica Capital. axios.link/4n9B1cu

🚑 Eli Health, a based hormone-tracking startup, raised $12m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. BDC Capital led, joined by Muse Capital, Telus Ventures, Foreground Capital, and Accelia Capital. axios.link/4k21c25

🚑 MyLaurel, a New York-based acute and transitional care provider, raised $12m. Deerfield Management and GV co-led, joined by Emerson Collective, Pinta Partners, and Ochsner Health. axios.link/4kZhVUt

• AI.work, an Israeli developer of autonomous "employees," raised $10m in seed funding. A* and lool ventures co-led, joined by First Minute Capital, FirsthandVC, Timeless Partners, SV Angel, Eckstein Capital, Liquid2, and Crossover VC. ai.work

🚑 Somnee, a Berkeley, Calif.-based sleep aid device maker, raised $10m in seed extension funding, per Axios Pro. Khosla Ventures led, joined by Time Ventures, Lead VC, the DeVos Family Office, Seaside Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, and Metalab. axios.link/3FvM3b7

• Coral Vita, a coral reef restoration startup, raised $8m in Series A funding. Builders Vision led, joined by Katapult Ocean, iAlumbra, BDT & MSD, 2050, Rypples, Colorado Coral, Rising Tide, Aureolis Ventures, and Wilson Sonsini. axios.link/3FUZ9P0

⚡ Co-Power, a German developer of decentralised energy infrastructure for the industrial sector, raised €6.4m led by Cherry Ventures, with Abacon Capital and Aurum Impact participating. axios.link/43UMMKQ

• Piston, a Cupertino, Calif.-based cardless payments platform for connecting commercial fleets with gas stations, raised $6.1m in seed funding led by Spark Capital, with participation from Pear VC and Bond. usepiston.com

• Row64, a Cheyenne, Wyo.-based business intelligence platform for big data, raised $4m in seed funding. Galaxy Interactive led, joined by Alumni Ventures and Differential Ventures. row64.com

🚑 Salvo Health, a virtual gastrointestinal care company, raised $4m in seed extension funding from Artemis Fund and insiders City Light, Human Ventures, Threshold Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and Torch Capital. axios.link/3ZQNRlK

🌎 Impact Recycling, a U.K. plastic recycler, raised £3.3m from IW Capital. impact-recycling.com

🚑 Clara, an SF-based marketplace for in-home senior caregivers, raised $3.1m in seed funding from Torch Capital, Virtue, and YC. axios.link/4n8IjNE

• PFx Biotech, a Portuguese developer of human milk proteins, raised €2.5m in seed funding. Buenavista Equity Partners led, joined by EIT Food and Beta Capital. axios.link/3FHAjlQ

• RetroRate, a San Diego-based provider of assumable real estate loan software, raised $2.2m in seed funding. Swift Ventures led, joined by Eniac, Cooley Ventures, Keshif Ventures, Interlock Capital, Launch Factory and Arkus Nexus. retrorate.com

• Argosy Private Equity acquired HEC, a Las Vegas-based provider of heavy equipment, crane, directional drilling, and HVAC training programs. heavyequipmentcollege.edu

• Eurazeo and Nordic Capital are among those circling Capital Four, a Danish credit manager backed by Ernesto Bertarelli, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4kWX1VS

• GTCR formed Maris Investments to acquire maritime tech companies. It will be led by Manish Singh, former CEO of Ocean Technologies Group. axios.link/3FNSZAf

• GSC Technologies, backed by Speyside Equity, acquired F&M Tool and Plastic, a Leominster, Mass.-based manufacturer of plastic goods in North America. gsctechnology.com

• Magnesium Capital acquired ABEC, a British provider of building management and energy monitoring solutions. abec.co.uk

• Masco Group, an Italian portfolio company of Ardian, acquired Techniserv, a Berwick, Pa.-based provider of bioreactor tech and process systems. mascogroup.com

• Oakley Capital is in talks to buy a control stake in U.K. corporate intelligence firm G3, which could fetch around £250m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/45NolS3

• Security 101, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, acquired JAC Security, franchise partner in the Houston market. security101.com

• Sixth Street Growth agreed to acquire a majority stake in Wealthbox, a Providence, R.I.-based provider of CRM software for financial advisers that had raised VC funding from firms like Frontier Growth and Bel45 Capital Partners. wealthbox.com

• Autodoc, a German online car parts retailer owned by Apollo, is prepping a Frankfurt IPO, per Reuters. axios.link/3ZUyoRE

🚑 Blue Water Acquisition III, a health care SPAC led by the founder of Blue Water Vaccines, raised $220m in its IPO. axios.link/4kxMnoG

🚑 Odyssey Therapeutics, a Boston-based developer of precision immunomodulators and oncology medicines, withdrew IPO registration. The company has raised over $500m in VC funding from firms like Balderton, OrbiMed, General Catalyst, Logos Capital, and T. Rowe Price. axios.link/4mQHfhj

• Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO) agreed to buy Boston-based insurance broker Accession Risk Management (dba Risk Strategies) for $9.83b. Sellers include Kelso & Co. axios.link/4e5pUgA

• Eight Roads, a VC firm backed by the family of Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson, is seeking to divest its stakes in around 40 Chinese tech companies due to geopolitical tensions, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4jC1Xyl

🎵 Tencent Music Entertainment Group agreed to buy Chinese podcasting platform Ximalaya for $1.3b in cash and an undisclosed amount of stock. Ximalaya, whose backers include Trustbridge Partners, in 2021 registered for a U.S. IPO but then withdrew. axios.link/4kA1C0o

• Diageo (LSE: DGE) is weighing options for its stake in Indian Premier League cricket club Royal Challengers Bengaluru, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3HwTW0q

• GFL Environmental (NYSE: GFL) is weighing a sale of a stake in infrastructure arm Green Infrastructure Partners at a $3.7b valuation, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3FVE2Mu

• Kering (Paris: KER) acquired Lenti, an Italian eyewear manufacturer. axios.link/4kYJptm

• Bloomberg Beta raised $75m for its fifth VC fund. axios.link/4kSHRkw

• Centerbridge Partners is seeking to raise $1b for a single-asset continuation fund focused on its minority stake in Fairstone Bank of Canada, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3SGy4lJ

• G Squared, a Chicago-based VC firm, is raising its seventh fund, per an SEC filing.

• Geodesic Capital raised $250m for a VC fund focused on "advancing the U.S.-Japan alliance." geodesiccap.com

• Josh Lederman joined Clearlake Capital Group as head of capital markets. He previously was with KKR. axios.link/4dX9lTN

• Kevin McKinley joined a16z as state lead on its government affairs team. He previously was director of state legislation at Meta. axios.link/3HxTI9c

• Bradley Noojin and Christopher Zochowski joined Paul Hastings as partners in the law firm's private equity practice. They previously were with A&O Shearman. paulhastings.com

• Grégoire Paepegaey joined Strategic Value Partners as a London-based managing director. He previously was with TDR Capital. axios.link/4mRSIgi

• Allison Pearce and Brian Rose joined Troutman Pepper Locke as Houston-based partners in the law firm's private equity and investment funds practice group. They previously were with Porter Hedges. troutman.com

• Dee Dee Sklar joined Bayview Asset Management as a senior adviser focused on insurance asset management. She previously was with Wells Fargo. axios.link/3FQt4Ia

Disney first got involved with Hulu via its acquisition of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets, which was announced on Dec. 14, 2017 and closed in March 2019.