Politicians are poised to put the hot IPO market on ice, as D.C. hurtles toward a government shutdown tomorrow.

The big picture: Companies need the Securities & Exchange Commission to bless their registration documents before going public.

• If the SEC is closed, no blessings.
• The agency hasn't posted guidance about its shutdown plans, as is customary, but few of its employees are likely to be deemed "essential."

State of play: Government shutdown threats are more common than actual government shutdowns, but this situation looks bleak.

• The White House may use this as an opportunity to lay off tons of federal employees, while Democrats want to show that they'll wield their limited power when able. In other words, incentives are aligned in the worst way.

Calendar: Two big companies plan to price IPOs this week, which means they really need to price them tonight.

• That's the plan for flood insurer Neptune, which aims to raise around $350 million.
• No word yet on Fermi, an energy infrastructure REIT cofounded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, which is seeking around $500 million.

Look ahead: This is where things get tricky.

• Not only do companies need SEC approval to go public, they often get their final set of SEC comments while on their IPO roadshows.
• Companies could launch with the hopes that the shutdown will be short, which seems to be what both Alliance Laundry Systems and University of Phoenix are doing, but it's a risk (unless they somehow figured out a way to get preemptive final effectiveness notes).

The bottom line: Don't be surprised to see a band of idled IPOs, much like what we saw after "Liberation Day."

• To follow what's happening in Congress, sign up for Axios Hill Leaders.

Coty (NYSE: COTY) said that it's launching a strategic review of its consumer beauty business, which could result in sales or spinoffs.

Why it's the BFD: This is an area where consumer value doesn't seem to be paying off, as legacy cosmetics are getting lapped by prestige brands.

• For Coty, whose shares are down more than 41% this year, that means refocusing on fragrances.

Zoom in: The review will focus on a mass color cosmetics unit that generates around $1.2 billion in annual revenue, for brands that include CoverGirl, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, and Max Factor.

• It also will examine a portfolio of Brazilian brands that generate around $400 million in annual revenue.

The bottom line: "Coty has cited headwinds including locked shelves in stores, immigration policy changes, and the ever-tightening squeeze on low-income consumers." — Natasha Khan, WSJ

• Cerebras Systems, an AI chipmaker on file for an IPO, raised $1.1b in Series G funding at an $8.1b valuaution. Fidelity and Atreides led, joined by 1789 Capital, Alpha Wave, Altimeter, Benchmark, Tiger Global, and Valor Equity Partners. axios.link/42QDU9h

• Rebellions, a South Korean AI chipmaker, raised $250m in Series C funding at a $1.4b valuation from Arm Holdings, Samsung Ventures, Pegatron, Lion X Ventures and insiders Korea Development Bank and Korelya Capital. axios.link/46PsmVe

🚑 Star Therapeutics, a South SF-based biotech focused on bleeding disorders, raised $125m in Series D funding. Sanofi Ventures and Viking Global led, joined by Janus Henderson, Frazier Life Sciences, GordonMD Global Investments and insiders Agent Capital, Blue Owl Capital, Catalio Capital Management, Cormorant, New Leaf Venture Partners, NYBC Ventures, OrbiMed, QIA, RA Capital Management, Redmile Group, Sofinnova Investments, Soleus Capital and Westlake BioPartners. axios.link/4gJTNEe

• Flying Tulip, a New York-based on-chain exchange, raised $200m from Brevan Howard Digital, CoinFund, DWF, FalconX, Hypersphere, Lemniscap, Nascent, Republic Digital, Selini, Sigil Fund, Susquehanna Crypto, Tioga Capital, and Virtuals Protocol. axios.link/4nLIBKl

• Eve, an AI platform for plaintiff law firms, raised $103m in Series B funding at a $1b+ valuation. Spark Capital led, joined by insiders a16z, Lightspeed, and Menlo Ventures. axios.link/46uNKQL

🚑 Assort Health, a patient communications automation startup, raised $76m in Series B funding. Lightspeed led, joined by First Round, Chemistry, Felicis, A*, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Quiet Capital. axios.link/42jayAj

• Vibe.co, a streaming ad platform, raised $50m in Series B funding. Hedosophia led, joined by Elaia and Singular. axios.link/4nt9ORD

• Scorability, an Austin-based software platform for college sports recruiting and evaluation, raised $40m. Bluestone Equity Partners led, joined by Silverton Partners, and Next Coast Ventures. axios.link/3Iqv6jL

• Descope, a Los Altos, Calif.-based authentication platform, raised $35m in seed extension funding from Notable Capital, Lightspeed, Dell Technologies Capital, Unusual Ventures, Cerca Partners, and Triventures. axios.link/48FLEPa

• Commcrete, an Israeli developer of tactical satellite communication systems, raised $29m in seed and Series A funding. Greenfield Partners led the Series A, joined by Redseed Ventures. axios.link/4gQXTe7

• Flox, a New York-based software lifecycle startup, raised $25m in Series B funding. Addition led, joined by NEA, D. E. Shaw, Hetz Ventures, and Illuminate Financial. axios.link/3WdSXpX

⚡️ Oxccu, a British sustainable aviation fuel startup, raised £20.8m in Series B funding from Orlen VC, Safran Corporate Ventures, International Airlines Group, Hostplus, TCVC, Clean Energy Ventures, IP Group/Kiko Ventures, Aramco Ventures, Eni Next, Braavos Capital, and the University of Oxford. axios.link/4nyYdRg

• Lexroom, an Italian legal AI startup, raised $19m in Series A funding. Base10 Partners led, joinerd by Acurio Partners and View Different. axios.link/4mGtMXY

• Polars, a Dutch open-source data startup, raised €18m in Series A funding. Accel led, joined by Bain Capital Ventures. axios.link/4pNUUHk

• Zania, an agentic AI security startup, raised $18m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. NEA led, joined by Palm Drive Capital and Anthology Fund. axios.link/42j05oF

• Mondoo, an SF-based provider of agentic vulnerability management solutions, raised $17.5m. HV Capital led, joined by insiders Atomico, Firstminute Capital, and System.One. axios.link/4nWeMpU

• Alex, an AI recruiter, raised $17m in Series A funding. Peak XV Partners led, joined by YC and Uncorrelated Ventures. axios.link/46PcMZD

🚑 Gelt, a Miami-based maker of doctor-focused tax tools, raised $13m in Series A funding from Rimon Group, Vintage, and TLV Partners. axios.link/42jayAj

🚑 Neura Health, a New York-based virtual neurology clinic focused on chronic conditions, raised $11.4m in Series A funding. The American Heart Association led, joined by Norwest Venture Partners, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Esplanade Ventures, Pear VC, Correlation Ventures, and E12 Ventures. axios.link/4nYZMYl

🚑 Confido Health, a developer of health-care scheduling agents, raised $10m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Blume Ventures led, joined by Schema Ventures, Vicus Ventures, Together Fund, DeVC, and Medmountain Ventures. axios.link/3KLMSOY

• Tie, a Miami-based identity platform, raised $10m in Series A funding. Innovating Capital led, joined by Stage 2 Capital and Hawke Ventures. axios.link/3VISgVA

• Reveni, a Madrid-based e-commerce logistics startup, raised €7.5m in Series A led funding. 13books Capital led, joined by JME Ventures, BSV, and Bynd Venture Capital. axios.link/4pSG16I

• Notch.cx, an Israeli customer support platform, raised $7m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Lightspeed led, joined by Jibe Ventures, LionTree, Phoenix, and Munich Re Ventures. axios.link/4nnp7vb

• Augmented Industries, a German AI startup focused on industrial workflows, raised €4.5m in pre-seed funding. B2venture led, joined by 1st Kind by Peugeot Family, xdeck, and DnA Ventures. axios.link/4gNAIkw

• Arqh, a Swiss decision intelligence starttupo focused on logistics, raised $3.8m in pre-seed funding. Founderful led, joined by Merantix Capital. axios.link/46uKdSr

• Willo, a Scottish recruitment platform, raised £3m from Mimecast co-founder Peter Bauer. axios.link/46E7dgA

• Rehuman, a British insure-tech startup, raised funding from Accenture Ventures. axios.link/3IKYDEJ

• AeriTek, a Mill Point Capital portfolio company, acquired Due North, a Toronto-based maker of commercial refrigeration units, from Ronin Equity Partners. axios.link/3KwDgYi

• Apheon acquired Golmar Italia, an Italian distributor of branded cleaning and hygiene products, from SETA Holding. axios.link/4pODPNn

• Bite Investments, a provider of tech solutions for alt assets, raised $25m from NewSpring Growth. axios.link/46FkyVP

• Civica Media, backed by Blackbern Partners, acquired hybrid publishers Amplify Publishing Group and Greenleaf Book Group. axios.link/3Kyvv49

🚑 Curvo and BroadJump, two health-care data companies backed by Hughes & Co., merged. axios.link/48831YP

• Eagle Merchant Partners invested in ES Integrated, a Charleston, S.C.-based provider of industrial cleaning, environmental, and waste services. axios.link/3Kq2GqI

• Lovell Minnick Partners acquired a majority stake in Merchant Industry, a provider of payment acceptance solutions. axios.link/4gQWvYP

🚑 Resonetics, backed by Carlyle and GTCR, acquired Eden Holdings, a provider of injection molding and micro-machining solutions for medical devices. axios.link/4723kmU

🚑 Sunstone Partners acquired Clearwater, a Nashville, Tenn.-based provider of cybersecurity and compliance solutions for health care, from Altaris. clearwatersecurity.com

• Towne Park, a Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based valet parking services firm owned by Greenbriar Equity Partners, acquired New Zealand's Frogparking. axios.link/3Wh15pC

• Bain Capital GSS Investment, a SPAC formed by Bain Capital, raised $400m in its IPO. axios.link/4pi9eaM

• BTC Development, a Bitcoin ecosystem SPAC led by Betsy Cohen, raised $220m in its IPO. axios.link/4lwFVxZ

• Once Upon a Farm, a Berkeley, Calif.-based producer of organic baby food, filed for an IPO. It reports a $28m net loss on $111m of revenue in the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the NYSE (OFRM). The company has raised nearly $100m from CAVU, Cambridge Cos., Access Capital, S2G Investments, Beechwood Capital, and co-founder Jennifer Garner. axios.link/4nLJ7bf

• Wealthfront, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based robo-adviser, filed for an IPO. It reports $61m of net income on $176m in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (WLTH). The company raised around $300m from firms like Tiger Global (19.7% pre-IPO stake), DAG Ventures (12.3%), Index Ventures (11.5%), and Ribbit Capital (8.8%). Three years ago it terminated an agreement to be acquired for $1.4b by UBS. axios.link/46EzuUg

• University of Phoenix, a for-profit school backed by Apollo and Vistria Group, set its IPO terms to 4.25m shares at $31-$33 per share. It plans to list on the NYSE (PXED). axios.link/3IJPCM7

• Elliott Investment Management is weighing options for U.K.-based Ark Data Centers, which could fetch more than £3b, per Reuters. axios.link/488ESS4

• Castmagic, an AI content creation platform for agencies and podcasters, acquired Flowsend, a brand voice AI startup. castmagic.io

• Fiserv (NYSE: FI) agreed to acquire StoneCastle Cash Management, a provider of deposit funding. axios.link/3KkCbD7

• Rose Rocket, a Toronto-based provider of transportation management software for trucking companies, acquired supply chain risk startup Centro, per Axios Pro. Rose Rocket has raised over US$60m from firms like Scale Venture Partners, YC, Addition, Shine Capital, Scale-Up Ventures, and Funders Club. Centro backers include Ripple Ventures. axios.link/4gVEt7S

⚡️ Serica Energy (LSE: SQZ) agreed to buy North Sea oilfield operator Prax Upstream for $25.6m. axios.link/4gPUa07

• Concept Ventures, a London-based preseed firm, raised $88m for its second fund. axios.link/42Sv8aX

• Gemspring Capital Management raised its second growth solutions fund at $1.1b. gemspring.com

• Goldenpeak is being launched as a London-based PE firm by Mark Williams (ex-Inflexion) and Leon Gillespie (Houlihan Lokey). axios.link/4q5jMur

• Hughes & Co. raised $260m for its second PE fund focused on health-care softwqare and tech-enabled services. axios.link/4gTUL14

• Verdane, an Oslo-based PE firm, raised €2b for its 12th fund. axios.link/4pHNipD

• Woven Capital, Toyota's growth fund, launched an $800m second fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3VEeB6D

⚡️ Ben Daniel joined Quantum Capital Group to lead a new energy infrastructure investment platform. He previously was a partner with Global Infrastructure Partners. axios.link/4pOkITy

• Ken Johnson is retiring at year-end from the Securities & Exchange Commission, where he's been COO since 2017. axios.link/3IKvUQu

🚑 Maureen Ladouceur joined Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe as a health care-focused operating partner. She previously was president and chief commercial officer at Norstella. axios.link/48GPZBL

• Turnspire Capital Partners promoted Ahdiv Nathan to principal. axios.link/48476NL

Joshua Pack, co-CEO of Fortress Investment Group, died unexpectedly on Monday at the age of 51.

• Pack joined Fortress 23 years ago from Wells Fargo, initially working on its credit funds.

Zoom in: The promotion to co-CEO came in 2023, as part of a deal whereby firm management and Mubadala purchased Fortress from SoftBank.

• Pack recently relocated to London from Fortress' Dallas headquarters, in order to aid in its European expansion.

In a statement, the firm said: "We are devastated by this loss. Josh was a gifted investor, a thoughtful strategist, a compassionate leader — and a deeply cherished friend to many. A member of the Fortress family for over 23 years, Josh left an indelible mark on our institution. He cared deeply for his team, and that care was returned in kind.

• It continued: "Most importantly, Josh was a devoted husband and father. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and ask that their privacy be respected during this tragic time. We are doing all we can to support the Pack family."

Fortress added that co-CEO Drew McKnight would remain in his role, and that Jack Neumark would be promoted to co-CEO.