Kellanova's mission to Mars may have a problem.

Driving the news: Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday plans to propose a federal ban on "corporate price-gouging in the food and grocery industries," according to a campaign statement.

• This would include heightened regulatory scrutiny of food producer and grocery mergers.

The big picture: This comes less than 24 hours after Mars, the closely held maker of Snickers and Skittles, agreed to buy salty snack maker Kellanova for a whopping $35.9 billion.

• The deal could become a juicy target for Harris, were she to win in November.
• It's not only in the bullseye of the first new economic policy she's proposed, but also is the largest announced merger of 2024 and the second-largest deal ever in the packaged food space (behind Heinz/Kraft).
• The deal isn't scheduled to close until sometime in the first half of next year, which could give a Harris White House plenty of time to intervene.

Zoom in: The Harris campaign, in a statement previewing her speech, also makes specific mention of the proposed $24.6 billion merger between supermarket giants Albertsons and Kroger, which the FTC already has sued to block.

• It's not yet clear how a President Harris would implement her "price-gouging" ban, but she'd easily be able to instruct DOJ and FTC antitrust officials to increase scrutiny of food sector mergers.

The bottom line: Mars and Kellanova are pot committed, but Harris may have just put a chill on future food sector deals. At least so long as she keeps surging in the polls.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is promoting Caitlin Gubbels to head of global private equity. She succeeds Suyi Kim, who's been in the role since 2021 and with CPPIB for 17 years.

Why it's the BFD: CPP is one of the world's largest investors in private equity, including both company and fund stakes, with around US$100 billion in assets.

Background: Gubbels has been with CPP since 2010, most recently serving as head of private equity fund partnerships. She previously was a banker.

The bottom line: "Gubbels' pedigree in funds, rather than directs, could tell us something about the institution's priorities ... potentially shifting the 'balance of power back to funds' after a strong focus on directs in recent years." — Private Equity International

• Re:Build Manufacturing, a Cambridge, Mass., provider of industrial manufacturing solutions, raised $120m led by General Catalyst. axios.link/3yvv4SL

🚑 HistoSonics, a Minneapolis developer of liver cancer therapy solutions, raised $102m in Series D funding. Alpha Wave Ventures led, and was joined by Amzak Health, HealthQuest Capital and insiders JJDC, Venture Investors, Lumira Ventures, Yonjin Venture, and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. axios.link/3AoOzNb

• Chaos Labs, a New York provider of on-chain risk management, raised $55m in Series A funding. Haun Ventures led, and was joined by F-Prime Capital, Spartan Capital, Slow Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Galaxy Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, PayPal Ventures, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Coinbase Ventures. chaoslabs.xyz

• Sahara AI, a decentralized AI blockchain platform, raised $43m co-led by Pantera Capital, Binance Labs and Polychain Capital. Other backers include Samsung, Matrix Partners, dao5, Geekcartel, Nomad Capital, SCB 10X, Canonical Capital, Mirana Ventures, Foresight Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Aegis Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Tangent Ventures. axios.link/3yErSUI

• Amount, a Chicago digital banking firm last valued by VCs at $1b, raised a $30m SAFE note, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3WNTrmB

• Syfe, a Singapore-based investment platform, raised $27m in Series C funding from two U.K. family offices, Valar Ventures and Unbound. axios.link/3YH74Xd

• Vayana, an Indian trade credit platform, raised $20.5m in Series D funding. SMBC led, and was joined by IFC, Chiratae Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Quantum State Investment Fund, and Emerald Co. axios.link/4dkmTaQ

🚑 Companion Protect, a Leawood, Kan.-based pet health administrator, raised $20.3m in Series A extension from insiders Avanta Ventures, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Old Republic International Corporation, and Stray Dog Enterprises. axios.link/46OMl5N

⚡ CruxOCM, a Canadian provider of co-pilot tech for energy control rooms, raised US$17m in Series A funding. M12 led, and was joined by ONEOK, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, EIC Rose Rock Fund and insiders Angular Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Root Ventures, Industry Ventures, Cendana Capital, Pipeline Capital Partners, and Golden Ventures. axios.link/46LVXya

• Sling Money, developer of a blockchain-based app for P2P international money transfers, raised $15m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Union Square Ventures led, and was joined by Ribbit Capital and Slow Ventures. axios.link/3yPK3a1

🚑 Hexarad, a London radiology tech startup, raised €13m. MTIP led, and was joined by Foresight Group. axios.link/3SQzwCn

• Essential, an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain developer, raised $11m in Series A funding. Archetype led, and was joined by IOSG Ventures, the Spartan Group, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Maven 11, and Big Brain Holdings. axios.link/3SNEBeC

• Ambercycle, an LA-based maker of recycled polyester, raised $10m from Shinkong Synthetic Fibers. ambercycle.com

🚑 Levels, a New York provider of health and nutrition software, raised $10m in Series A extension funding from Long Journey and a16z. levelshealth.com

🚑 Photon Health, a New York-based prescription drug shopping and management startup, raised $9m co-led by Notation Capital and Flare Capital Partners. axios.link/3YNXaDg

🌎 Promethean Particles, a British provider of carbon capture materials, raised £8m in Series A funding. Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures co-led, and were joined by Foresight, University of Nottingham, TSP Ventures, and British Business Bank. axios.link/4dofbww

• Definity, a Chicago data application observability startup, raised $4.5m in seed funding. StageOne Ventures led, and was joined by Hyde Park Venture Partners. axios.link/4dJGst6

🚑 Guardoc Health, an Israeli provider of clinical compliance software, raised $3m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Pitango HealthTech led, and was joined by Bertelsmann Investments, Springbank and Fresh Fund. axios.link/3SNe7dj

• JetZero, a Long Beach, Calif., developer of blended-wing aircraft, raised funding from Alaska Airlines. jetzero.aero

• Blackstone acquired a majority stake in M3, a Lawrenceville, Ga., provider of hospitality accounting software. m3as.com

• Everfox (fka Forcepoint Federal), a Herndon, Va., cybersecurity portfolio company of TPG, completed its purchase of London's Garrison Technology, which had raised over $60m from firms like Dawn Capital, Touchstone Innovations, BGF Ventures, and NM Capital. everfox.com

• New Mountain Capital and Energy Impact Partners invested in Site 20/20, a Canadian traffic control and road safety company. site2020.com

• PrimeSource Brands, a residential building products maker backed by Clearlake Capital Group, acquired Cobra Anchors, a Canadian provider of hollow-wall, universal, and masonry anchors. psbrands.com

• Regent acquired Bally International, a Swiss luxury shoe and accessories company, from JAB. regentlp.com

• Strategic Value Partners agreed to buy Blanchardstown Centre, Ireland's largest shopping mall, from Goldman Sachs, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4fNYfkv

• Summit Park acquired a majority stake in Hylaine, a Charlotte, N.C.-based tech consultancy. hylaine.com

🚑 Veradigm (Nasdaq: MDRX), a Chicago-based electronics health records data firm with around a $1b market cap, has launched its sale process, per Axios Pro. Thoma Bravo is among the suitors. axios.link/3SOv1IG

• Xceed Foodservice Group, a portfolio company of San Francisco Equity Partners, invested in JG Neil, a foodservice brokerage operating in the Pacific Northwest. xceedfoodservicegroup.com

• 99 Speed Mart, a Malaysian convenience-store chain, launched a $532m IPO. axios.link/4fOqeR6

• Klarna, a Swedish payments firm, is "close to selecting" Goldman Sachs to lead a 2025 IPO that could value the VC-backed company at around $20b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dKQLNm

• Butterfly sold most of its minority stake in LA-based supplements brand MaryRuth Organics back to founder MaryRuth Ghiyam and her family, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3yuxsJv

• Experian (LSE: EXPN) acquired NeuroID, a Whitefish, Mont.-based behavioral analytics and fraud prevention startup that had raised $46m from firms like Canapi Ventures, Fin Capital, and TTV Capital. axios.link/3WNIAJd

⚡ EIG is seeking to sell Maverick Natural Resources, a Houston E&P that could fetch nearly $3b, per Reuters. axios.link/4dKjSAm

• HPE (NYSE: HPE) agreed to acquire Morpheus Data, a Greenwood Village, Colo., provider of software for hybrid cloud management and platform operations. Morpheus had raised over $30m from firms like Science Applications International. morpheusdata.com

🚑 KKR launched a sale process for Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, the largest private hospital group in the Philippines, per the WSJ. It could value the business at around $3b. axios.link/3X1UMHI

• InfraVia Capital Partners is seeking to sell Green, a Swiss data center operator that could fetch around €1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dMoDcZ

• Prytek agreed to buy Tipranks, an Israeli stock research platform, for $200m. TipRanks had raised over $100m from firms like Prytek, MORE Investment House, and Poalim Equity. axios.link/4cuqYIa

• AMH (NYSE: AMH) is in advanced talks to buy around 1,700 U.S. rental homes from Man Group (LSE: EMG), per Bloomberg. axios.link/46UNA3G

🚀 Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) agreed to buy Terran Orbital (NYSE: LLAP), an Irvine, Calif.-based small satellite company that went public in 2021 via SPAC, for $450m. axios.link/3M6R21p

• XPO (NYSE: XPO) revived a sale process for its European transportation unit, which could fetch up to $2b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3ApzZoN

• HighPost Capital raised $100m for an early-stage fund focused on consumer and consumer tech companies. highpost.com/hipstr

• Maverick Capital launched a fund focused on private AI companies, which it seeded with internal capital. axios.link/3YLph61

• Resurgens Technology Partners, an Atlanta-based PE firm focused on software, raised $800m for its third fund. axios.link/3X5WJmL

• Maria Palma joined VC firm Freestyle as a partner. He previously was with Kindred Ventures and RRE Ventures. axios.link/3X3Hj2h

• Dwight Scott is retiring from Blackstone, where he's currently chairman of credit and insurance, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4cIdF7r

The number of banks in America is on a steady downtrend, in part because they're getting gobbled up by nonprofit credit unions, Axios' Felix Salmon writes.

• Credit unions have many advantages over banks. They pay less in taxes and don't need to deliver profits to shareholders.
• They also have less of a regulatory burden — they aren't subject to Community Reinvestment Act requirements, for instance, and their National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund is in healthier shape than the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund.

The bottom line: Until recently, a nonprofit couldn't own a for-profit — it seems to defeat the whole point —  but the walls between those worlds are breaking down. Go deeper.