Corporate development teams at private companies have a growing list of publicly traded takeover targets at their disposal.

Zoom in: Private companies stay private longer and gather enormous valuations, creating the appearance of arbitrage where these private players could buy up badly traded public ones.

• Axios has heard of at least one AI multicorn considering buying some smaller public players.

Case in point: Just valued at $159 billion in a tender offer, Stripe is reportedly eyeing a complete or partial acquisition of PayPal, per Bloomberg.

• After popping on the news, PayPal ended yesterday with a roughly $43 billion market cap.

State of play: PayPal is not alone.

• Recently public Figma, for instance, is valued at $14 billion — down 77.5% from its first day of trading. Klarna is now valued just over $5 billion, down 67% since its first day of trading. Crypto trading company Gemini is now down 81% since its first day, valuing it at $700 million.
• It's not just companies that went public this year, either: Atlassian is down 74% in the last year, as is Monday.com. Domo, once valued over $3 billion, is now at $159.7 million.

Yes, but: Selling a public company to a private one isn't so simple.

• A private company's stock is based on its last round, but public market investors may not agree. That's especially true if it's price-to-earnings ratio differs significantly from public comps — making a deal hard to negotiate or more expensive for the private buyer.
• The cleanest alternative is to raise new cash to finance a deal, or sell to a bigger public player. Meaning a lot of these conversations end up being about smaller businesses — or become just talk.

The bottom line: Either way, one thing remains true: the public stock market is shrinking.

Paramount's new bid for Warner Bros. Discovery boosts its termination fee to $7.8 billion, on top of covering the $2.8 billion bill that WBD would have to pay to walk away from Netflix.

Why it's the BFD: That $7.8 billion would be one of the biggest termination fees in history, and so would the $5.8 billion Netflix agreed to pay in its offer.

Flashback: In 2013, Verizon had pledged to pay $10 billion to Vodafone if it couldn't get financing to buy out the latter's $130 billion stake in Verizon Wireless.

• AOL agreed to pay $5.4 billion back in 2000, if it backed out of the Time Warner deal.

The bottom line: Even if Netflix doesn't win the deal or regulation gets in the way of WBD's sale, they could still come out a couple billion richer.

What's next: WBD's board needs to make a decision.

• Wayve, a U.K.-based autonomous car company, raised $1.5b in Series D funding that valued it at $8.6b. Eclipse, Balderton and SoftBank led, joined by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, and Schroders Capital. wayve.ai

• MatX, a Mountain View, Calif.-based AI chip developer, raised over $500m. Jane Street and Situational Awareness led, joined by Marvell Technology, NFDG, Spark Capital, and Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison. axios.link/46oM6zw

• SambaNova, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based chipmaker, raised $350m from investors including Intel. axios.link/4cf2k24

• Basis, a New York-based agent platform for accountants, raised $100m in Series B funding at a $1.2b valuation. Accel led, joined by GV, Lloyd Blankfein, and Khosla Ventures. Axios Pro Flashback

• SolveAI, a London-based no-code complaint software building platform, raised $45m in Series A funding led by GV and a $5m pre-seed led by Accel. Northzone, Mantis VC and Neverlift joined. solve.ai

• Nimble, a New York-based web search and data platform, raised $47m in Series B funding led by Norwest. Databricks Ventures, Target Global, Square Peg, Hetz Ventures, Slow Ventures, R-Squared Ventures, J-Ventures, and InvestInData joined. nimbleway.com

• Astelia, a New York-based cybersecurity platform, raised $35m in seed and Series A funding led by Index Ventures and Team8 with participation from Holly ventures. axios.link/4tSfrMK

• Dwelly, an London-based roll-up for real estate brokerages, raised £32m led by General Catalyst. Begin Capital and S16VC joined. axios.link/4c9xRSU

• Union.ai, a Bellevue, Wash.-based enterprise AI and data workflow platform, added $19m to its Series A, per Axios Pro. The raise now totals $38.1m and is led by existing investor NEA, with participation from Nava Ventures and Mozilla Ventures. axios.link/3Muk5jv

• NationGraph, an SF- and Toronto-based government data engine for enterprises, raised an $18m Series A led by Menlo Ventures, per Axios Pro. Perplexity Fund, XYZ Venture Capital, Reach Capital, and angel investors participated. axios.link/40yAkz2

• Based, a Singapore-based web3 consumer app for crypto, raised $11.5m in Series A funding led by Pantera, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures and Karatage. axios.link/4kTw46A

🚑 MedScout, an Austin-based commercial enterprise medtech tool developer, raised $10m led by Fulcrum Equity Partners, joined by insiders Live Oak Venture Partners and Stage 2 Capital. axios.link/4kZrYKA

• Sophia Space, an SF-based orbital data center developer, raised a $10m seed round from Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund and Unlock Venture Partners. axios.link/4rzY0Pz

• Neural Earth, a Miami-based geospatial risk intelligence platform, raised a $9.3m seed round from undisclosed investors. axios.link/4b8M29J

• Dots, an SF-based global payouts software, raised an $8.9m Series A, per Axios Pro. DCM led, joined by Y Combinator. axios.link/4qUODc0

• Kinfolk, a London-based HR workforce operations platform, raised $7.2m in seed funding led by AlbionVC, with participation from PROfounders Capital, Ascension and Emerge. kinfolkhq.com

• Wootzwork, a Houston-based manufacturing partner for programs across India and Southeast Asia, raised $6.6m in Series A funding led by Z47, per Axios Pro. Nexus Venture Partners, AdvantEdge Founders and Stride Ventures joined. axios.link/4tQhe5f

• Circadian Risk, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based enterprise risk analysis company, raised a $6m Series A led by Arthur Ventures, joined by Roll Tack Ventures, 11 Tribes and Tamiami Angel Funds. axios.link/4kQOF3g

• Mogul, a West Hollywood, Calif.-based music industry revenue tracking platform, raised $5m. Yamaha Music Innovations Fund led, joined by the Urban Innovation Fund, Mindset Ventures, Fairway Capital Partners, Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures. axios.link/3ZQXiRU

• Evoke Security, a Washington-based cybersecurity company, raised a $4m pre-seed round led by Crosspoint Capital Partners, with participation from Red Cell Partners. axios.link/3N2Qe1F

• Jampack AI, an NYC-based wholesale operations automation platform, raised a $3.2m seed led by Maveron, joined by Timber Grove Ventures. axios.link/46qmanj

• Myrias Optics, an Amherst, Mass.-based wafer-level metaoptics and diffractive optical tech company, raised $2.1m in seed funding led by MassVentures, with participation from Hoss Investment, Maroon Venture Partners, and Tenon Venture Partners, Mill Town Capital, TiE Boston Angels, and Doug Crane. axios.link/4aUPGD1

• Arcline Investment Management agreed to acquire Hydraulics International, a provider of ground support equipment, mobile test systems, and specialized pumps. axios.link/4qWb7JR

• Bain Capital and Lone Star Funds have advanced to a second round of bidding for Mitsubishi Electric's automotive equipment business, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4rzC2Mt

• CampusWorks, backed by Atlantic Street Capital, merged with Dynamic Campus, a IT services firm for higher education campuses. dynamiccampus.com

• Capital Constellation, backed by Wafra, invested in Gallatin Point Capital, a private investment firm. axios.link/3OwRGd3

• Kava Equity Partners acquired The Berg Group, a Minnesota-based drywall contractor, from the The Southern Ute Indian Tribe Growth Fund. axios.link/4kSEtHq

• KKR is in talks to take Taiyo (TSE:4626), a Japanese chemicals company, private, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4aVA0iZ

• Morgan Stanley Capital Partners acquired Security 101, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based provider of commercial security integration services. Gemspring backed Security 101. axios.link/3ZYfrx8

• Shamrock Capital acquired Mutiny, a Los Angeles-based creative agency for the gaming industry. axios.link/3ZYm4Q2

• Topspin Consumer Partners invested in Grid, a Dallas-based maker of lockers and flooring solutions for fitness facilities. axios.link/3OJ6YLL

• OneMagnify, backed by Crestview Partners, acquired the Performance Marketing business of Optimal, a digital marketing company. axios.link/4ccT8eq

• On Track Partners, backed by NorthCurrent Partners, acquired Carey's Seamless Gutters & Overhead Doors, a southern Wisconsin-focused provider of gutter systems and garage door installations. axios.link/4qNxFfD

🚑 QC Capital Group invested in My Pediatric Doctor, a 24/7 urgent care pediatric telemedicine company. axios.link/46rxX4B

• Victor Capital Partners invested in Specialty Fenestration Group, a maker of high-security windows and doors. River Associates Investments exited. axios.link/4aOlDwO

• Maya, the fintech unit of Philippine telecommunications company PLDT, plans to list in the U.S. and in the Philippines. axios.link/4sv6VSH

🚑 MiniMed Group, a diabetes management device business being carved out of Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), plans to raise $742m in an offering of 28 million shares priced between $25 to $28. axios.link/4qXdQTg

🚑 Salspera, a Cambridge, Mass.-based cancer biotech, plans to raise $85m by offering 5.7 million shares priced between $14 and $16. axios.link/4aCKmVS

• StepFun, a Chinese AI model company backed by Tencent, is weighing a Hong Kong that may raise about $500m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4b9RBEQ

• ADT, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based home security company, acquired Origin Wireless, an AI company that can analyze and track motion without cameras, for $170m. Verizon Ventures backed Origin. axios.link/46n0nwH

• Experian acquired AtData, an email identity and data intelligence platform, from TZP Group. axios.link/40rzu7h

• GSK (NYSE: GSK) agreed to acquire 35Pharma a Canada-based novel protein-based therapeutic biopharmaceutical, for $950m. VenBio, Marshall Wace, and Frazier Healthcare Partners backed 35Pharma. axios.link/4kWcbvY

• Bolttech Holdings, backed by Sumimoto Corp., is in talks to acquire Nasdaq-listed MoneyHero, a fintech also backed by billionaire Richard Li, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4tW0JEq

• Brookfield Asset Management bought U.K.-based Ori, an AI cloud provider, and merged it with Radiant. Ori's backers include Fortitude Capital, Wa'ed Ventures, 6 Degrees Capital, Atempo Growth and NextEra Energy. axios.link/3ZR3Jo5

• Novacap closed Novacap Technologies Fund VII, with nearly $3.8b. axios.link/4sfPTrv

• Ara Partners promoted James Chiu to partner in its Energy strategy. axios.link/46Ucz8

• CAVU promoted Jared Jacobs to managing partner, working alongside Brett Thomas and Rohan Oza. axios.link/4qRhKNp

• VSS Capital Partners promoted Brad Corbin to managing director; Aditya Govil and Sai Parepally to principals, and Jon-Michael Beckelman to vice president. vss.com