President Trump wants a monetary return from what he sees as America's investment in Ukraine, and the two countries are nearing a deal to advance that goal.

The big picture: There's less here than meets the eye, at least so far.

Driving the news: The two countries are in advanced discussions to form a "Reconstruction Investment Fund" that would collect revenue from Ukraine's natural resources, including mineral and oil rights, plus ports and unspecified infrastructure.

• Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler obtained a copy of the draft agreement, complete with typos. There was some expectation that it would be signed yesterday, but that doesn't seem to have happened.
• If and when the agreement is signed, both sides would be tasked with setting up the actual fund. For the U.S., negotiators would be Vice President Vance and the Treasury and Commerce Departments.

Zoom in: There are a lot of blanks to fill in.

• The biggest is how the U.S. would actually get repaid. It would hold the fund's entire financial interest, but the draft agreement says that proceeds would be reinvested in Ukraine.
• It reads like the purpose would be to defray costs of Ukrainian reconstruction, but that doesn't match Trump's "recoup" talk.
• The reinvestment itself also remains vague, except to acknowledge that it would be in projects that are "commercial in nature."
• Finally, there is no detail on how this would impact any existing commercial contracts in Ukraine, including if this new agreement would supersede them.

By the numbers: The draft agreement states that Ukraine would contribute 50% of the resource extraction revenue, minus operating costs, up to $500 billion.

• Ukraine also would contribute double the dollar amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine after the agreement is signed, although it's not clear if that's direct aid or also would encompass funds given to U.S. contractors for the purpose of Ukrainian defense.
• Put in private equity terms, Ukraine would be both the fund's limited partner and de facto portfolio company.

Zoom out: This effort is separate from a Ukrainian reconstruction bank that's being formed by Ukraine's government in partnership with Blackrock and JPMorgan, which is expected to launch later this year with around $1 billion in commitments.

The bottom line: Trump's administration is littered with private equity and venture capital veterans, so it's not surprising to see it propose fund models to further its agenda, whether that be in Ukraine or closer to home with a sovereign wealth fund.

Blackstone Infrastructure agreed to acquire Safe Harbor Marinas, a Dallas-based marina and superyacht servicing company, for $5.65 billion from Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI).

Why it's the BFD: It's a reminder that the pandemic-era boating boom didn't sink.

By the numbers: SHM operates 138 marinas, compared to the 101 it operated in 2020 when acquired by Sun Communities for $1.1 billion.

• I asked Blackstone what distinguishes a yacht from a superyacht, and was told that yachts are at least 35 feet long while superyachts measure at least 100 feet.

The bottom line: "While boat sales tend to ebb and flow with consumer sentiment, storage slips tend to be in short supply in all economies, creating opportunities for marina owners to modernize properties and drive higher rents." — Patrick Clark, Bloomberg

• Monument Bank, a British challenger bank, is in talks to raise a £200m Series C round, per Sky News. axios.link/4i8pSVQ

• Quantum Machines, an Israeli developer of quantum control solutions, raised $170m in Series C funding. PSG Equity led, and was joined by Intel Capital and Red Dot Capital Partners. axios.link/4hPq0tJ

• Ethena, a Spanish issuer of the USDe stablecoin, raised $100m via token sale from Franklin Templeton, F-Prime Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Polychain Capital, and Pantera Capital. axios.link/4hP38dW

• Flow48, a Turkish provider of revenue-based financing solutions for SMEs, raised $69m in combined equity and debt funding. Breega led, and was joined by 212, Speedinvest, Daphni, Endeavor Catalyst, Evolution Ventures, and +VC. axios.link/4ibCuM3

• Metronome, an SF-based provider of usage-based billing for software companies, raised $50m in Series C funding led by insider NEA. Other backers include a16z, General Catalyst, Workday Ventures, Greyhound Capital, Truebridge Capital Partners, Activant Capital, SineWave Ventures, and Megalith Ventures. axios.link/4kbwCnR

🎧 Audiochuck, a true crime and mystery media company founded by podcaster Ashley Flowers, raised $40m from TCG. axios.link/4gXn0ub

• Auditoria.AI, an agentic AI provider for CFOs, raised $38m in Series B funding. Innovius Capital led, and was joined by Dell Technologies Capital, Sentinel Global, and insiders Venrock, NeoTribe Ventures, Engineering Capital, and KPMG Ventures. auditoria.ai

• Perfect, an Israeli agentic AI platform for recruitment, raised $23M in seed funding from backers like Hanaco Ventures and Joule Ventures. axios.link/41lpVai

• Albert Invent, an Oakland, Calif.-based AI chemistry startup, raised $20m led by JPMorgan Equity Partners. albertinvent.com

🌎 Cambium, a Baltimore-based startup focused on converting waste wood into usable lumber, raised $18.5m in Series A funding. VoLo Earth Ventures led, and was joined by NEA, Dangerous Ventures, Tunitas Ventures, Woven Earth, Understorey, Groundswell, Ulu Ventures, MaC Venture Capital, Rise of the Rest, 81 Collection, Alumni Ventures, and Soma Capital. axios.link/41hfUKW

• Edera, a Seattle developer of workload isolation technology, raised $15m in Series A funding. M12 led, and was joined by Mantis VC, In-Q-Tel and insiders Eniac Ventures, 645 Ventures, FPV Ventures, Precursor Ventures, and Rosecliff Ventures. edera.dev

• Covu, a Redwood City, Calif.-based insurance brokerage startup, raised $10m in Series A extension funding. Benhamou Global Ventures led, and was joined by True Global Ventures. axios.link/41sT1FS

🚑 Paradox, a Toronto-based developer of antibody therapies to treat protein misfolding diseases, raised US$10m led by SymBiosis. paradoximmuno.com

• HouseWhisper, a workflow management assistant for real estate agents, raised nearly $10m in seed funding from Mayfield, PSL Ventures, and 75 and Sunny Ventures. housewhisper.ai

• CTGT, an enterprise AI management startup, raised $7.2m in seed funding. Gradient led, and was joined by General Catalyst, YC, Liquid 2, and Deepwater. axios.link/4gYEPZN

🚑 Fuse Vectors, a Danish developer of cell-free vital vector tech, raised $5.2m in pre-seed funding led by HCVC. axios.link/4hQLW7T

🚀 Kapta Space, a Seattle-based space tech startup, raised $5m in seed funding. MetaVC Partners led, and was joined by Entrada Ventures and Blue Collective. axios.link/41bP07n

• Karomia, a Belgian provider of ESG reporting software, raised €2m from Entourage and Imec.start. axios.link/41bKG8e

• Alterra Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in ARP Africa Travel, a tour operator focused on East Africa. axios.link/4kdplnu

• Axis Insurance Managers, a Canadian portfolio company of Lee Equity Partners, acquired Calgary-based commercial brokerage Fuse Insurance. axios.link/43cyQNF

• Gallant Capital Partners acquired the government services business of Navient (Nasdaq: NAVI). navient.com

• Genstar Capital is in talks to acquire a control stake in First Eagle Investment Management from Blackstone and Corsair Capital at a valuation north of $4b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/43aSoll

• Imperial Dade, a Jersey City, N.J.-based portfolio company of Advent International and Bain Capital, acquired Georgia-focused janitorial services company AJS. imperialdade.com

• KKR, Fountainvest Partners, and PAG are among the PE firms circling a stake in the China business of Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX), per Reuters. axios.link/3ERXGIy

• Lone Star Funds agreed to acquire the specialty chemicals and high-performance polymers units of Italy's RadiciGroup. radicigroup.com

• LongRange Capital agreed to acquire US Synthetic, an Orem, Utah-based provider of polycrystalline diamond technologies, from ChampionX (Nasdaq: CHX). axios.link/416XHj6

• New Mountain Capital agreed to buy the U.S. commercial insurance division of NSM Insurance Group, a portfolio company of Carlyle. axios.link/4k67azY

• Seven Point Equity Partners acquired Frazier Aviation, a San Fernando, Calif., provider of sustainment solutions for the military aircraft aftermarket. frazieraviation.com

• TMF Group, a Dutch portfolio company of CVC Capital Partners, acquired EWM Global, a Swiss provider of exec comp administration services. axios.link/4i8d0zH

• Upswell, a Marietta, Ga., portfolio company of Clearview Capital, acquired Taradel, a Glen Allen, Va.-based provider of direct mail and digital marketing services. upswellmarketing.com

• Tata Capital, the financial unit of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, said it plans to go public. axios.link/41wDo0b

• Investcorp agreed to sell its majority stake in Contentserv, a provider of product information and experience management solutions to Centric Software, a U.S. subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes (Paris: DSY). contentserv.com

• Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) acquired streaming platform YY Live from Joyy (Nasdaq: YY) for $2.1b. axios.link/3ETjmnz

🚑 Maravai LifeSciences (Nasdaq: MRVI) acquired the DNA and RNA units of Italy's Officinae Bio. maravai.com

• Middleby (Nasdaq: MIDDO), an Illinois-based kitchen equipment maker that's come under activist investor pressure, plans to spin off its food processing business. axios.link/41loloS

• Telefónica (Madrid: TEF) sold its Argentina business for over $1.2b to Telecom Argentina. axios.link/3QwWvRc

• Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) agreed to buy certain assets of insolvent German tech supplier Manz. axios.link/43aVVQE

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYE: TMO) agreed to buy the purification and filtration business of Solventum (NYSE: SOLV) for $4.1b in cash. axios.link/4gZwSUa

JPMorgan announced plans to expand its direct lending business, setting aside $50b from its balance sheet. Seems like Wall Street's current approach to private credit is: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

• Camber Partners, a growth equity firm focused on software companies, raised $210m for its second fund. camber.io

• Footwork, an early-stage VC firm, raised $225m for its second fund, per an SEC filing.

🌎 Polestar Capital, a Dutch impact investor, raised a €500m debt fund for e-mobility and infrastructure companies. axios.link/3QzGCJY

• Thoma Bravo raised €1.8b for its first Europe-focused buyout fund. axios.link/4h4VGdy

• Brian Brickhouse joined Berkshire Partners as an advisory director. He's the former president of Eaton's Americas electrical business. axios.link/3EUQTOf

• Mellissa Campbell Duru joined law firm Gibson Dunn as a partner focused on securities regulation and corporate governance. She previously was the SEC's deputy director of legal regulatory policy for corporate finance. axios.link/41uyWyP

Nippon Steel of Japan today said that it will discuss its planned purchase of U.S. Steel with the Trump administration, as it continues to challenge former President Biden's block of the deal in court.

What to know: Nippon agreed to buy U.S. Steel for $55 per share in late 2023, and says that agreement would be the starting point in any negotiations.

• It also left open the possibility of making a non-control equity investment, which is something President Trump recently suggested was a done deal. U.S. Steel, meanwhile, seems to still support a Nippon acquisition — but hasn't publicly commented on renegotiation talks.

Between the lines: Nippon and U.S. Steel are suing Biden for blocking the deal without first engaging in a legitimate national security review, as is required by law.

• Trump vowed the block the deal as a candidate, and continues to do so, also without launching a national security review (although he could rely upon Biden's).