Let's kick off this busy morning with updates on four stories we've previously covered:

1/ Last call: The Justice Department yesterday sued private equity giant KKR for allegedly failing to file proper pre-merger notifications on nearly a dozen deals in 2021 and 2022, asking for a whopping $650 million in damages.

• KKR responded with a suit of its own, asking the court not only to say it followed the rules, but also that the FTC's interpretation of pre-merger notification rules are "unconstitutionally vague."
• That second piece could have some quick consequences if successful, given that other merger parties might view it as a "get out of jail free" card while the FTC works out more explicit rules.
• All of this is in the context of new pre-merger filing rules approved last fall, but which already are being challenged in court.
• DOJ and KKR had been in settlement negotiations for months, but it feels like the tumult of a changing executive might have contributed to those talks breaking down and resulting in these dueling complaints. Don't be surprised if out-of-court efforts resume shortly

2/ TikTok clock: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to delay the TikTok ban, which is set to hit next week if the social media app doesn't receive an (unexpected) reprieve from the Supreme Court.

• His proposal would give TikTok owner ByteDance an additional 270 days to divest, although the Chinese company hasn't shown much interest in doing so over the eight-plus months since the ban bill became law.
• Other bill sponsors include Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
• As a reminder, here's the easiest way to ByteDance to divest. Well, so long as Beijing agrees.

3/ Tweet tussle: The SEC last night sued Elon Musk for alleged disclosure violations tied to his purchase of Twitter stock in 2022.

• Some may try framing this as political persecution by an outgoing administration, but this investigation began long before Musk even hinted at supporting Trump's reelection.
• As we reported at the time, acquirers of more than 5% of a publicly traded company must disclose within 10 days, but Musk didn't disclose his Twitter stock purchases until 21 days later.
• The irony, of course, is that these disclosure rules are intended to stop acquirers from profiting at the expense of other shareholders, while Musk admits he ended up overpaying for most of his Twitter stock (after essentially backing himself into a legal corner).
• Musk's attorney says his client "has done nothing wrong and everyone sees this sham for what it is."

4/ Unhealthy: Prospect Medical Holdings has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, just days after being scrutinized in a Senate Budget Committee report about private equity-owned hospital chains.

• PMH had been owned by Leonard Green & Partners until four years ago, with the firm telling Axios that it was "in strong financial condition" at the time.
• My colleague Caitlin Owens has more, including the similarities between PMH and Steward Health.

Colossal Biosciences, the "de-extinction" company known for its work on the woolly mammoth and dodo, raised $200 million in Series C funding from Mark Walters' TWG Global at a $10.2 billion post-money valuation.

Why it's the BFD: This gives the pre-revenue company more runway to sign contracts with governments that are seeking to protect or replenish their biodiversity, while also letting it expand its de-extinction efforts into more species.

• It also will continue to scale up its genome engineering tools and conservation efforts.

State of play: Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm tells me that the company's artificial womb efforts should allow it to gestate a small mammal ex-utero within the next two years, likely something small like a mouse.

• He adds that his dream animal to de-extinct would the Steller's sea cow, which once swam in the kelp forests of the North Pacific and Bering Sea, but acknowledges that it's not atop the current white board.

• Synthesia, a London-based B2B AI video generation platform, raised $180m at a $2.1b valuation. NEA led, and was joined by WiL, Atlassian Ventures, PSP Growth, and insiders GV and MMC Ventures. axios.link/4ak6LWe

🚀 Loft Orbital, an SF-based space infrastructure startup, raised $170m in Series C funding. Tikehau Capital led, and was joined by Axial Partners, Bpifrance, Foundation Capital, Temasek, and Uncork Capital. axios.link/4alUmBi

• Harbinger, an LA-based maker of electric commercial trucks, raised $100m in Series B funding. Capricorn and Leitmotif co-led and were joined by Tiger Global, Coca-Cola, Greycroft, ArcTern Ventures, Thor Industries, TechNexus, Ridgeline, Maniv Mobility, Ironspring Ventures, Schematic Ventures, and Overture Climate. axios.link/3WnUgTJ

• Sygnum, a Swiss crypto-focused bank, raised $58m at a $1b valuation led by Fulgur Ventures. axios.link/429h51h

⚡ Amogy, a Brooklyn-based developer of ammonia-based fuels for trucks and ships, raised $56m co-led by Aramco Ventures and SV Investment. axios.link/40hkpVB

• Nelly, a Berlin-based startup that digitizes medical practices, raised €50m in Series B funding. Cathay Innovation led, and was joined by Notion Capital and insiders b2venture, Lakestar, Motive Ventures, and Arc Investors. axios.link/3WkerSp

🚑 Solera Health, a Phoenix provider of health-care navigation software, raised $40m. Health Care Service Corp. led, and was joined by Adams Street, Cobalt Ventures, and Horizon Mutual Holdings. soleranetwork.com

🚑 Fize Medical, an Israeli fluid management company, closed a $30m Series A led by Ralpha Capital Management. fizemedical.com

• SEEQC, an Elmsford, N.Y.-based quantum computing startup, raised $30m. Booz Allen Ventures and NordicNinja co-led, and were joined by SIP Capital. axios.link/4g3rQoV

• Maki, a conversational AI agent for talent acquisition, raised $28.6m in Series A funding. Blossom Capital led, and was joined by DST Global, Frst, GFC, and Picus Capital. axios.link/4af6GmN

• Reshop, an instant refunds startup from Afterpay founder Anthony Eisen, raised $17m from Matrix Partners, Sound Ventures, Woodson Capital, and Touch Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4j9LkeF

• Qbiq, an Israeli startup focused on automating architectural planning, raised $16m in Series A funding. Insight Partners led, and was joined by JLL Spark, 10D, Ocean Azul, Random Forest and M-Fund. qbiq.ai

• The Snow League, the pro snowboarding league from Shaun White, raised $15m led by Left Lane Capital. thesnowleague.com

• Sydecar, a Houston provider of back-office automation software for VCs, raised $11m in Series A funding led by Deciens Capital. axios.link/42fmPXg

• Sarla Aviation, an Indian electric air taxi startup, raised $10m in Series A1 funding led by insider Accel. axios.link/4ahthPA

• Boardy, an AI networking startup, raised $8m in seed funding led by Creandum. axios.link/40xOYrq

• Arva AI, an SF-based platform for automating AML and KYB verification processes, raised $3m in seed funding. Gradient Ventures led, and then was joined by YC, Amino Capital, and Olive Tree Capital. axios.link/4heXalA

• MetAI, a Taiwanese digital twins startup, raised $4m in seed funding from Nvidia, Kenmec Mechanical Engineering, Solomon Technology, SparkLabs Taiwan, Addin Ventures, and Upstream Ventures. axios.link/42gspZs

• Wultra, a Czech cybersecurity startup, raised €3m from Tensor Ventures, Elevator Ventures, and J&T Ventures. axios.link/42enCYj

• Affinity Partners, led by Jared Kushner, received regulatory approval to double its 4.95% stake in Israel's Phoenix Financial (TAE: PHOE) by purchasing shares from Centerbridge Partners and Gallatin Point Capital. axios.link/4aAa0sV

• Bain Capital agreed to acquire Japanese aircraft interior maker Jamco for around $634m (including debt) from backers like Itochu and ANA Holdings. axios.link/3DVuLTn

• Capital D acquired a stake in Danish social commerce platform GoWish. axios.link/40evoz6

• Flexera, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo, agreed to buy a portfolio of cloud software assets from NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP). axios.link/4gVshTx

🚑 Harvest Partners invested in Alumni Staffing, a Bridgewater, N.J.-based locum tenens health-care staffing firm. alumnihealthcarestaffing.com

• IPC, a portfolio company of Strategic Value Partners, acquired Intracom Systems, a Malibu, Calif., provider of software-based communication solutions. axios.link/3C9c65Z

• May River Capital merged portfolio companies Advanced Material Processing and Automated Handling Solutions, with the combined company headquartered in Charlotte. amprocessing.com

🚑 Montagu agreed to acquire Bethlehem, Pa.-based orthopedic device company Tyber Medical, and merge it with existing portfolio company Resolve Surgical Technologies. tylermedical.com

⚡ Octopus Energy, a British firm that's raised over $3.6b from private investors, acquired the French business of Sweden's OX2, an EQT portfolio company that develops solar power plants on agricultural land. axios.link/4g2X5k2

• Roark Capital acquired a majority stake in GPRS Holdings, a Maumee, Ohio-based provider of subsurface contractor, from Kohlberg & Co. gp-radar.com

• Rotunda Capital Partners invested in Value Added Distributors, a Shawnee, Wis., distributor of hoses and other products to specialty vehicle OEMs and other mobile fluid power users. vadtek.com

• Plum Acquisition IV, a SPAC sponsored by Plum Partners, raised $150m in a downsized IPO. axios.link/40iJSh7

• Brookfield Asset Management hired Morgan Stanley and Eastdil Secured to find a buyer for Livensa Living, a Spanish student housing provider that could fetch €1.3b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4h6ZPxU

• Canadian antitrust regulators approved Bunge's (NYSE: BG) $8.2b acquisition of Viterra, a Dutch agribusiness backed by CPP Investments and Glencore. axios.link/4afQ2n1

• CBRE (NYSE: CBRE) acquired coworking space operator Industrious for $800m. Industrious had raised over $500m in private funding form backers like CBRE, Talon Group, Riverwood Capital, Schechter Private Capital, Wells Fargo, Equinox, Fifth Wall, Brookfield Property Partners, CPP Investments, TF Cornerstone, and Granite Properties. axios.link/4jj6nv5

• Chainalysis, valued by VCs at $8.6b, acquired fraud detection tool Alterya for $150m. Alterya backers included Battery Ventures, Nyca and FJ Labs. axios.link/4jjc3pc

• Providence Equity Partners is exploring a sale of U.K.-based events group CloserStill, which could fetch more than £1b, per the FT. axios.link/3DQjio4

• Leon Black decided not to bankroll a $700m purchase of British newspaper The Daily Telegraph by New York Sun owner Dovid Efune, per The Telegraph. axios.link/4jadtlL

⚡ Civitas Resources (NYSE: CIVI) is weighing the sale of part or all of its assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which could fetch more than $4b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4azWF3P

🚑 Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) agreed to divest a £2.5b stake in consumer health business Haleon (LSE: HLN). axios.link/4fU52rH

• SGS (Swiss: SSGN) and Bureau Veritas (Paris: BVI) are in merger talks, which could create a $33b testing, inspection, and certification firm, per the WSJ. axios.link/40kl2gO

• DYDX Capital launched as a Silicon Valley VC firm focused on early-stage startups in the "data supercycle." It was founded by Spencer Maughan (ex-KPCB, Venrock), while partners include Steve Hoffman (Finistere Ventures, Venrock), Pavel Danilov (Fridge No More), and Dean Tilyard (The Factory). dydxcap.com

• Keen Venture Partners of Amsterdam is raising €125m for a fund focused on European defense startups. axios.link/4akjRmv

• Mountaingate Capital raised $570m for its third lower midmarket PE fund. mountaingate.com

• PACT Capital is launching as a GP stakes business, initially backed by Reinsurance Group of America and Sackville Capital. Its cofounders are Christian von Schimmelmann (ex-Goldman Sachs) and Brian Vickery (McKinsey & Co.). axios.link/4agyEhK

• Outsiders Fund is raising $150m for its third fund, with $68m already committed, per an SEC filing.

• Blue Wolf Capital Partners promoted Eve Mongiardo, Shashank Patel, and Rick Winegar to partners. bluewolfcapital.com

• Dan Caine joined Shield Capital as a venture partner. He's a recently retired Lieutenant General and led both Mayday Holdings and RISE Air. shieldcap.com

• Jeremy Darroch, former CEO of Sky, joined KKR as an executive advisor to the firm's European PE practice. axios.link/3WlTLK1

• King Street Capital Management promoted Sharin Valia to managing director. axios.link/40ewVF7

• Adebayo Ogunlesi, founding partner of Global Infrastructure Investors, joined OpenAI's board of directors. axios.link/40ynnGj

• Mark Wiedman is leaving BlackRock, where he ran the global client business and was viewed as a possible successor to CEO Larry Fink, per the FT. axios.link/3PCzgVs

Intel Capital, one of the oldest and most active corporate venture funds in Silicon Valley, will spin off into an independent firm in the second half of 2025.

• It was founded in 1991, and has invested more than $20 billion into over 1,800 companies.

Behind the scenes: Intel committed up to $500 million per year for the effort, which mostly focused on early-stage startups that could be described as deep-tech and "future of compute."

• The spinout plans began prior to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger's sudden retirement last month, with Intel Capital senior managing director Mark Rostick saying that Gelsinger had been involved in the discussions.
• When asked if the spinout was being prompted by Intel wanting to reduce its capital commitment, Rostick declined to answer directly. He did say, however, that Intel will serve as a cornerstone investor in the future independent fund, maintain a strategic relationship and will provide capital so that the group can make new and follow-on investments in the interim.

Look ahead: No word yet on how much the independent firm will seek to raise for its debut fund, or what it will be called (may I suggest a rock or a tree?)

The bottom line: Intel Capital head Anthony Lin says the move will let the group act more like other venture capital firms, in terms of greater autonomy, the ability to attract outside capital, and have stronger compensation incentives.