Axios Pro Rata

President Trump this morning blamed both the Fed and the midterms for the recent stock volatility that has now put the Dow and S&P 500 in the red for 2018.

• No mention of what actually seems to have freaked out the markets yesterday, which was a report that Trump might soon impose tariffs on all Chinese imports.
• No mention of how stocks also took a giant dive this past spring, long before the midterms.
• No mention of how stocks were doing fine when most political pundits were predicting a blue wave, whereas they've sunk since those predictions were tempered post-Kavanaugh. (I'm not making a causation case here, simply arguing against one.)
• No mention of how the Fed didn't take anyone by surprise with its mild rate hikes.
• No mention of slowing global growth, or investor fears that the tax cut "sugar high" will wear off in 2019.

Bottom line: There is a very good reason why presidents rarely take too much credit for a bull market. And we may be about to see that cautionary tale play out in real time.

• Up and down: It's been just over three months since KKR switched from a publicly-traded partnership to a C-corp, and the results have been mixed.

• On the one hand, KKR has successfully expanded its investor base, as the move allowed equity index and exchange-traded funds to take positions.
• On the other hands, KKR shares have fallen nearly 16%.

• Recommended reading: Global tax proposals take aim at U.S. tech

💰 Update: Earlier this month we confirmed a Recode report that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was raising new money led by Tiger Global at an $8 billion valuation, and added that the company earlier had a term sheet from Vy Capital with a $12 billion valuation, which was pulled after crypto asset prices deteriorated.

• Coinbase today announced $300 million in Series E funding at the $8 billion mark (post-money). Tiger Global led, and was joined by YC Continuity, Wellington Management, Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain.
• Recode and Axios both had heard the total raise would be closer to $500 million, inclusive of a secondary tranche, and a source this morning tells me the secondary of around $200 million is still on, but not yet closed.

💍 On the docket: The New York AG's office yesterday filed fraud and illegal lending charges against Harris Jewelry, a retailer owned by private equity firm Consumer Growth Partners (which seems to utilize a fundless sponsor model). From the accompanying release:

"It is alleged that Harris Jewelry targets and then entices local service members into the stores with 'Operation Teddy Bear'— a purported charitable program in which Harris Jewelry sells teddy bears in military uniforms with promises of charitable donations. In fact, the complaint alleges that this is nothing more than a marketing ploy to dupe service members into high-priced, illegal in-house financing contracts for vastly overpriced jewelry."

🎧 Pro Rata Podcast: We focus on what happens now with investments from Saudi Arabia, and I'm joined by Axios' Felix Salmon. Listen here.

Source: Giphy

The Athletic, a San Francisco-based digital sports media startup, raised $40 million in Series C funding at around a $200 million valuation, per my Axios colleague Sara Fischer.

• Why it's the BFD: Because that's an awful lot of venture capital for a paid sub model, particularly given that overcapitalization is a known millstone for online media upstarts.
• Investors: Founders Fund and Bedrock Capital co-led, and were joined by Comcast Ventures, Evolution Media Capital, Courtside Ventures, The Chernin Group, YC, Advancit, Luminari, Amasia and BDMI.
• Bottom line: "Digital upstarts are battling to upend decades of dominant sports coverage from ESPN, local papers and radio." — Sara Fischer, Axios

🚑 98point6, a Seattle-based telehealth startup that uses text messages, raised $50 million in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs. http://axios.link/bGHT

• Quid, a San Francisco-based platform for analyzing large volumes of text, raised $37.5 million. REV Ventures led, and was joined by Julian Robertson, Henry Kravis, Lixil Group, Artis Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Founders Fund. http://axios.link/Ci9N

• Ethos, a San Francisco-based “ethical” life insurance startup, raised $35 million in Series B equity and debt funding. Accel led, was joined by GV, Sequoia Capital, Roc Nation’s Arrive and Silicon Valley Bank. www.getethos.com

• StarkWare, an Israeli developer of blockchain apps for zero-knowledge proof technology, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Paradigm led, and was joined by Intel Capital, Sequoia Capital, Atomico, Coinbase and DCVC. http://axios.link/q9e5

• Concord, a San Francisco-based contract management platform, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Tenaya Capital led, and was joined by return backers Alven and CRV. www.concordnow.com

• Omni.us, a German insure-tech startup, raised $22.5 million in Series A funding. Target Global led, and was joined by MMC Ventures, Talis Capital, Unbound and Anthemis. www.omnius.com

• Clear Labs, a Menlo Park-based sequencing platform for food safety raised $21 million in Series B2 funding. Menlo Ventures led, and was joined by Wing VC, Dentsu Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. www.clearlabs.com

• Sentieo, a San Francisco-based financial research platform, raised $19 million in Series A funding led by Centana Growth Partners. www.sentieo.com

• Geltor, a San Leandro, Calif.-based producer of animal-free collagen proteins, raised $18.2 million in Series A funding. Cultivian Sandbox Ventures led, and was joined by GELITA and ADM Ventures. http://axios.link/gywu

• LoopMe, a British mobile brand advertising company, raised $17 million in new funding led by BGF. http://axios.link/3Aoo

• Unu, a German maker of electric scooters, raised $12 million. Ponooc led, and was joined by Capnamic Ventures, Iris Capital, Michael Baum and NRW Bank. http://axios.link/sCHF

• WAYV, a B2B cannabis logistics and compliance platform, raised $5 million in seed funding led by Craft Ventures. http://axios.link/HshI

• Grofers, an India-based online grocer, is in talks to raise between $100 million and $150 million led by existing backer SoftBank Vision Fund, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/Pu6R

• Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to buy the car batteries business of Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) for between $13 billion and $14 billion, per Reuters. http://axios.link/0BAr

• CVC Capital Partners and GRO Capital agreed to acquire a majority stake in Omada, a Copenhagen-based provider of identity governance and administration software. www.omada.dk

• Great Hill Partners has merged portfolio companies Vanco Payment Solutions and Connexeo, into a single payment processor called Vanco. www.vancopayments.com

• Lennar (NYSE: LEN) agreed to sell part of its Rialto real estate lending unit to Stone Point Capital for $340 million. http://axios.link/Hsb0

🚑 Sheridan Capital Partners invested in Empower PT, a Phoenix-based physical therapy practice management company.

• Tiger Brokers, a China-based online brokerage, is prepping a $200 million IPO for the beginning of 2019, per Bloomberg. It has raised around $140 million in VC funding, most recently at around a $1 billion valuation, from backers like Jim Rogers, Prospect Avenue Capital, K2VC, Orient Hontai Capital, Oceanpine Healthcare Fund and ZhenFund. http://axios.link/6ijW

• Keppel Infrastructure Trust of Singapore said it is the preferred bidder for Australian chemicals company Ixom, which is being sold by Blackstone Group for around A$1 billion. http://axios.link/m2P5

• Laboratoires Expanscience of France acquired Babo Botanicals, a Scarsdale, N.Y.-based maker of all-natural skin and hair-care products. Sellers include JMK Consumer Growth Partners. www.babobotanicals.com

🍜 Restaurant Group (LSE: RTN) acquired noodle restaurant chain Wagamama for £559 million (including debt) from private equity firms Duke Street and Hutton Collins. http://axios.link/dv3K

• Atlassian (Nasdaq: TEAM) agreed to sell Jitsi, an open-source chat and videoconferencing tool it bought in 2015, to 8x8 (NYSE: EGHT). http://axios.link/tAB5

🚑 Carbon Health, a San Francisco-based platform for ongoing care management and virtual appointments, has merged with Direct Urgent Care, a network of Northern California urgent care centers. Carbon Health raised $6.5 million from firms like Builders VC. www.carbonhealth.com

• NXHM of Belgium agreed to buy European digital currency exchange operator Bitstamp. http://axios.link/lecB

🚑 Takeda Pharma (Tokyo: 4502) is considering a sale of its European OTC business, with J.P. Morgan managing the process, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/b4IU

• Traub Capital acquired Ocala, Fla.-based cake decorations business Signature Brands from Swiss consumer goods company The Hero Group. www.signaturebrands.com

🚑 ArchiMed, a French healthcare private equity firm, raised over €400 for an €800 million-targeted “mid-market buy-and-build” fund. It also added Antoine Faguer (ex-Denis Industries) as a partner, Sofia Ysewyn (ex- Labatec Pharma) as a principal and Brian Sheridan (ex-LivaNova) as an operating partner. www.archimed-group.eu

• Hellman & Friedman raised $16 billion for its ninth buyout fund, per an SEC filing.

• Hillhouse Capital of China has partnered with San Francisco-based VMG Partners on a $100 million fund focused on consumer brands. http://axios.link/dj4E

• David Richter, former head of business development and corporate development at Uber, joined e-scooter startup Lime as its interim CFO and first-ever chief business officer. http://axios.link/yLaG