Emptying out the notebook as the holidays approach...

💰 By the numbers: We're closing out a monster year for dealmaking, according to preliminary data from LSEG.

• Global M&A value is around $4.39 trillion, the second-highest figure on record and a 45% boost over 2024. The only richer year was 2021, at $5.48 trillion.
• The number of deals, however, fell 7% to a nine-year low.
• U.S. M&A followed a similar trend in 2025, with $2.23 trillion in deal value for around 11,300 deals — up 54% and down 14% from 2024, respectively.

🚑 Big exit: Matt Holt is leaving New Mountain Capital after nearly 25 years, but he's not leaving empty-handed.

• The firm's former president of private equity is in advanced talks to buy five NMC portfolio companies, which he'd then put inside a new platform focused on using AI to improve health care services. The companies' combined value would be around $30 billion.
• ICG is backing his plans, which were first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Axios with sources familiar. No final paperwork has yet been signed, and none of the parties is publicly commenting.

☢️ Coming attractions: Yesterday, we discussed the pending merger of Trump Media & Technology Group with nuclear fusion company TAE.

• A source close to the deal tells me that the combined company will focus solely on energy, which means that Truth Social and other TMTG media assets either could be sold or otherwise separated.
• TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer didn't confirm or deny during a call with Axios, except to say that all of the combined company's investments will go toward energy.

⌚ TikTok clock: TikTok has formally signed the deal to divest its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors, the company confirmed yesterday in an internal memo scooped by Axios' Sara Fischer.

• It's the same framework as what was disclosed back in September, which complies with a 2024 divestiture law.
• Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will collectively own 45%, while nearly one-third will be held by existing ByteDance investors and nearly 20% will be retained by ByteDance. There are still a few missing percentage points, so expect those names when the deal formally closes on Jan. 22, 2026.
• The deal values TikTok U.S. at just $14 billion, per a source close to the deal. That's the same fire sale figure we heard in the fall, although it wasn't mentioned in yesterday's memo.

Source: Giphy

Sony (Tokyo: 6758) has agreed to pay around $458 million to increase its stake in Peanuts Holdings to 80%, via a deal with Canada's WildBrain (TSX: WILD).

Why it's the BFD: Iconic.

Catch up quick: WildBrain (under a different name) bought control of Peanuts in 2017 for $345 million and then sold a 39% stake to Sony.

• The family of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz has retained the other 20%.

The bottom line: Got to wonder how long until Charlie Brown and the gang are licensed to an AI company.

• OpenAI is in the early stages of raising $100b at an $830b valuation, per the WSJ. axios.link/3YByYTf

🚑 Atavistik Bio, a Cambridge, Mass., blood cancer biotech, raised $120m in Series B funding. Nextech Invest and The Column Group led, joined by Lux Capital and Regeneron Ventures. axios.link/3L4GLWF

• Neural Concept, a Swiss engineering platform for product development, raised $100m in Series C funding. Goldman Sachs Alternatives led, joined by insiders Forestay Capital, Alven, HTGF, D.E. Shaw Ventures, and Aster Capital. axios.link/491XjGL

• Nirvana Insurance, an SF-based trucking industry insurtech, raised $100m in Series D funding at a $1.5b valuation. Valor Equity Partners led, joined by Lightspeed and General Catalyst. axios.link/3Y4VhAF

🚑 Edison Scientific, an SF-based developer of "AI scientists" for research, raised $70m in seed funding. Triatomic Capital, Spark Capital, and an undisclosed biotech investor led, oined by Pillar VC, Susa Ventures, Striker Venture Partners, Hawktail VC, and Olive VC. axios.link/3XZZOV0

🚑 Neurable, a Boston-based developer of brain-computer interface AI, raised $35m in Series A funding led by Spectrum Moonshot Fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/454uAjm

🚀 EtherealX, an Indian maker of reusable launch vehicles, raised $21m from backers like TDK Ventures and Accel, per TechCrunch. axios.link/4josFwd

🚑 NextFoods, a Boulder, Colo.-based functional nutrition startup, raised $10m in Series 3 funding led by ECP Growth. axios.link/4aXaKdA

• Salient, a loan serving startup, raised $10m at a $500m valuation, per Fortune. Insiders include a16z. axios.link/458Bc05

• Speed, a bitcoin Lightning and stablecoin payments platform, raised $8m from Tether and Ego Death Capital. axios.link/3L7zPrO

• Feanix, an Asheville, N.C.-based livestock management startup, raised $5.3m in seed funding. Initialized Capital led, joined by Overwater Ventures, General Catalyst, and Collab Fund. axios.link/45gln7w

• InfiniteWatch, a NYC-based AI observability startup, raised $4m in pre-seed funding. Base10 Partners led, joined by Sequoia Capital, a16z, Kfund, Kibo Ventures, and LifeX. axios.link/493jGvt

• Peripheral Labs, a Toronto-based startup focused on spatial intelligence for live sports broadcasting, raised US$3.6m led by Khosla Ventures. axios.link/48M5Uyn

• Ciphero, an AI verification layer for enterprises, raised $2.5m in pre-seed funding led by Sovereign's Capital and Chingona Ventures. axios.link/492cb7Y

• StretchSense, a developer of data-capture gloves, raised $2.3m. PXN Ventures led, joined by Scottish Enterprise. axios.link/4935TVJ

• Givefront, a fintech for nonprofits, raised $2m. Script Capital led, joined by YC, C3 Ventures, and Phoenix Fund. axios.link/3KZrM0b

🛥️ Boatsetter and GetMyBoat, both Airbnb-type companies for boats, have agreed to merge. Boatsetter is backed by Level Equity and Centerbridge Partners, while GetMyBoat is owned by Japan's Yanmar. axios.link/45hr1q1

🚑 Copley Equity Partners acquired Vital Delivery Solutions, a Williston, Vt.-based provider of health care logistics and courier services, from Family Office Investors and River Birch Partners. axios.link/4rWKXbw

• Hypergene, a Swedish financial planning SaaS owned by Thoma Bravo, agreed to merge with Statsys, a Swedish provider of compliance and risk management software backed by Verdane. axios.link/4p4WenB

• KKR bought the remaining 25.8% stake in hair care brand Wella from Coty (NYSE: COTY) for $750m. axios.link/4qgbcbh

• KKR is the frontrunner to buy Japanese chemicals manufacturer Taiyo (Tokyo: 6976), which has around a $3.3b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4ar5Wx2

• L Catterton invested in Huge, a Japanese multi-concept restaurant group. axios.link/44xOvam

• McNally Capital acquired Airforce Turbine Service, a Tynan, Texas-based aviation MRO focused on PT6A turboprop engines. axios.link/4jeL4v9

🚑 MidEuropa acquired a majority stake in MBL Group, a U.K. CDMO for assisted mobility, rehabilitation and aged care equipment, from sellers like INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund. axios.link/4s4A6fP

• Nexi (Milan: NEXI) rejected TPG's €1b bid for its digital banking unit. axios.link/4j1YkDe

• Rock Hill Capital and True West Capital Partners invested in Weathermatic, a Garland, Texas-based provider of smart irrigation tech. axios.link/3XZO8l8

• Salt Creek Capital acquired Northrock Industries, a Bohemia, N.Y.-based manufacturer of industrial construction tools. axios.link/45ivBEu

• Tikehau Capital acquired ScioTeq, a Belgian provider of ruggedized displays for the aviation and defense industries, from OpenGate Capital. axios.link/3MRmSmm

🚑 Warner Pacific, a Lovell Minnick portfolio company, acquired Local Insurance Advisors, an Oklahoma-based Medicare and health insurance advisory. axios.link/3Y3JZg0

• American Drive Acquisition, a defense and tech SPAC led by Anthony Eisenberg, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/3KQuwgn

• Proem Acquisition I, a tech SPAC led by Proem Asset Management execs like Imran Khan (Verishop, Snap), filed for a $130m IPO. axios.link/45hP8Vz

• Vine Hill Capital Investment II, an industrials and transportation SPAC led by Nicholas Petruska, raised $200m in an upsized IPO. axios.link/44vBJsA

🚑 Francisco Partners hired Jefferies to explore a sale of MyHeritage, a DNA testing service and genealogy platform that could fetch around $1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4qa1bw8

• Monzo, a U.K. digital bank, agreed to acquire Habito, a London-based digital mortgage broker, which had raised over $100m from Augmentum Fintech, SBI Investment, Volution Ventures, Mosaic Ventures, and Ribbit Capital. axios.link/3XZ2mCO

• Grab (Nasdaq: GRAB) acquired Infermove, a Chinese developer of AI robotics firm. axios.link/49kJep5

• Kering (Paris: KER) plans to acquire Italian jewelry producer Raselli Franco Group, including an initial €115m investment for a 20% stake. axios.link/4qcTGof

• LawVu, a New Zealand-based workspace for in-house legal teams, acquired ClauseBase, a Belgian provider of in contract review, drafting and automation. LawVu has raised over US$50m in VC funding from firms like Movac and Insight Partners. axios.link/4s3RdhP

🚑 Bret Bostwick joined Breyer Capital as venture advisor focused on biotech, per Axios Pro. He previously was senior medical director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. axios.link/3L6Hc2G

• Nautic Partners promoted Michael Brofft to principal. axios.link/4pVZxhW

Warner Bros Discovery shares yesterday closed below the $27.75 that Netflix has agreed to pay for its studios and streaming business, and nearly 8% below Paramount's $30 per share hostile bid for the entire company.

Why it matters: Wall Street is getting bearish on a bidding war.

Why it may matter less: Harris Associates, one of WBD's largest shareholders, yesterday said that it "would be very open to a revised Paramount offer."

• It added: "As things stand today, we think the Netflix and Paramount offers are comparable on value but that the Netflix offer is superior on deal terms. The good news is that the concerns on deal terms seem entirely addressable."