Medline yesterday jolted the sleepy IPO market, raising the largest offering in years and then watching shares pop more than 40%.

• It also might have restored faith in leveraged buyouts, at a time when many limited partners in private equity funds are questioning the model's viability.

Catch up quick: We wrote a lot about Medline when it was acquired in 2021, namely because it felt like a nostalgic throwback.

• For starters, the deal was huge. More than $30 billion, in what was one of the largest health-care buyouts ever. And over half the headline number was debt.
• Second, it was a club deal. Three private equity firms — Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman — that each had identical stakes that, when combined, gave them control. There also was a few billion of sovereign wealth co-invest, while the founding Mills family remained Medline's largest single shareholder.
• Finally, this was never going to be flipped via a trade sale, as Medline was the market leader in hospital supplies by a country mile. Its new debt made a sponsor sale unlikely. Going public was always the goal.

The intrigue: There also was timing risk related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Medline's financials still were stuffed with revenue from products like masks, gloves, and testing kits. The buyers had to suss out how much of that excess demand would wane.
• Meanwhile, some rivals abandoned the space. McKesson announced plans to spin off its relevant business, while Owens & Minor last month agreed to sell its unit to Platinum Equity for $375 million.

Zoom in: Medline spent four years growing via over $1 billion in acquisitions and international expansion.

• It filed confidentially for an IPO at the end of 2024 and began serious conversations in March.
• But those plans got waylaid by President Trump's tariff rollout in early April, both because of their impact on Wall Street and also on Medline's actual business.

By the numbers: Blackstone, Carlyle, and H&F invested roughly $3.5 billion into the buyout, Axios Pro's Lucinda Shen reports.

• At yesterday's close, each of those stakes would have been valued at $9.3 billion. Minus any shares sold via a synthetic secondary tied to the IPO.
• It's the sort of return that can calm a lot of LP concerns (much like what SpaceX might do next year for VC fund LPs).

The bottom line: It feels weird to say that private equity needed a win. But it did.

Trump Media & Technology Group (Nasdaq: DJT) has agreed to merge in an all-stock deal with TAE Technologies, a VC-backed developer of nuclear fusion technologies.

Why it's the BFD: Trump Media arguably failed at media, generating less than $3 million in sales for the first nine months of 2025, and now is moving onto a regulated technology with higher risks and rewards.

• It's also a reverse merger merry-go-round. Trump Media went public via SPAC in 2024, and now is helping TAE go public.

By the numbers: The deal values the company at $6 billion, with shareholders of each holding a 50% stake on a fully diluted equity basis.

• Trump Media finished trading yesterday with a $2.93 billion market cap, having seen its shares fall nearly 70% year-to-date.
• Lake Forest, California-based TAE was valued at around $6 billion in a 2023 funding round, per PitchBook. Overall it's raised more than $1b from firms like Alphabet, NEA, Goldman Sachs, Kitty Hawk, MicroVentures, Reimagine Ventures, and Chevron Technology Ventures.

The bottom line: Nuclear fusion remains future tech — unlikely to be commercialized while President Trump is in office — but the companies say they plan to begin construction next year on "the world's first utility-scale fusion power plant," which would require government approvals.

• Lovable, a Swedish vibe coding startup, raised $330m at a $6.6b valuation. CapitalG and Menlo Ventures led, joined by Salesforce Ventures, HubSpot Ventures and insiders Accel, Evantic, and Creandum. axios.link/4s451ZF

⚡ Radiant, an El Segundo, Calif., developer of nuclear microreactors, raised more than $300m at a valuation north of $1.8b. Draper Associates and Boost VC led, joined by Ark Venture Fund, Chevron Technology Ventures, Friends & Family Capital, and Founders Fund. axios.link/4qj9BSf

🚑 Syremis Therapeutics, a developer of schizophrenia drugs, raised $165m in Series A funding, per Endpoints News. Third Rock Ventures and Dexcel Pharma led, joined by Bain Capital Life Sciences, Google Ventures, QVT, and Pictet. axios.link/4slnscD

• Imprint, an NYC-based loyalty rewards platform, raised $150m in Series D funding at a $1.2b valuation. Khosla Ventures led, joined by Thrive Capital, Ribbit Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Hedosophia, Spice Capital, and Timeless. axios.link/48YdSDv

🚑 Addition Therapeutics, an SF-based genomic medicine company, raised $100m from SR One, Pivotal Life Sciences, Abingworth, Osage University Partners, the Gates Foundation, and BEVC. axios.link/497LS0q

• Exein, an Italian provider of cybersecurity solutions for connected devices, raised €100m. Blue Cloud Ventures led, joined by HV Capital, Intrepid Growth Partners, Geodesic Capital, and JPMorgan. axios.link/4j1lqK9

⚡ Fuse Energy, a London-based electricity startup, raised $70m at a $5b valuation led by Balderton Capital and Lowercarbon Capital. axios.link/4j1kMfH

• Ben, a London-based employee benefits platform, raised $27.5m in Series B funding. Mercia Ventures led, joined by Atomico, Cherry Ventures, DN Capital, Seedcamp, and QuantumLight Capital. axios.link/4ja4PEk

• Thread, an NYC-based service desk platform for IT providers, raised $18m, per Axios Pro. Susquehanna Growth Equity led, joined by Headline. axios.link/4oXhI5T

• Enlightra, a Swiss developer of chip-scale multiwavelength lasers, raised $15m from YC, Runa Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Protocol Labs, Halo Labs, Asymmetry Ventures, and TRAC VC. axios.link/3MJXu1Z

🚑 Clarity Pediatrics, an SF-based pediatric chronic care telehealth company, raised $14.5m in Series A funding. Jackson Square Ventures led, joined by City Light Capital, MassMutual Catalyst Fund II, GingerBread Capital, Scrub Capital and Operator Collective. axios.link/4qk8ulk

🚑 Leona Health, a Mexico City-based AI copilot for doctors on WhatsApp, raised $14m in seed funding. A16z led, joined by General Catalyst and Accel. axios.link/3N5vtSw

• Logpresso, a South Korean SIEM provider, raised around $12m in Series B funding led by KB Investment. axios.link/3YAiryU

• Gambit Cyber, a Dutch threat management startup, raised $3.4m in seed funding. Expeditions led, joined by Bitdefender Voyager Ventures. axios.link/3KR3mGa

• AtScale, a developer of universal semantic layer tech, raised funding from Snowflake Ventures. No financial details, except that it's more than AtScale raised in its $50m Series D round. axios.link/3YASQWC

• Endera, an Ottawa, Ohio-based maker of electric bus engines, raised funding from The Ohio Fund, Magnetar, and Pulse Fund. enderamotors.com

🏀 Arctos Partners acquired a minority equity stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the owner of Washington, D.C., franchises in the NBA, WNBA, and NHL. Qatar Investment Authority also increased its existing minority stake in Monumental, which also owns facilities and other sports clubs. axios.link/4pJvERV

• Broadwing Capital acquired CloudScale365, a provider of IT managed services for SMBs. axios.link/4j5erzV

• Initial Group, backed by TPG, acquired Silver Tribe Media, a talent management and production firm. axios.link/4qh6xG9

⚡ I Squared Capital agreed to acquire Zenith Energy Terminal, a Portland, Ore.-based terminal for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels. axios.link/4aVHrIm

• Midas International, a unit of PE-backed Mavis Tire Supply, acquired Midas dealer Max Auto Supply. axios.link/491EraM

🚑 ProSites, a Rockbridge Growth Equity portfolio company, acquired GeniusVets, a San Diego-based veterinary marketing company. axios.link/48KK0f2

• RFE Investment Partners and Mansfield Investment Partners invested in NuView, a Portsmouth, N.H.-based managed IT and cybersecurity platform. axios.link/4pIYDW5

🚑 Snapdragon Capital Partners agreed to acquire Better Being, a Salt Lake City-based maker of dietary supplements, from HGGC. axios.link/4pUxYpe

• Andersen Group, an SF-based tax advisory formed by former Arthur Andersen partners, raised $176m in its IPO. It priced at the high end of its $14-$16 range, for a $1.9b fully diluted value, and listed on the NYSE (ANDG). axios.link/48qBWQA

• Churchill Capital XI, a SPAC led by Michael Klein, raised $360m in an IPO. axios.link/4oOzXew

• Iron Horse Acquisition II, a media and entertainment SPAC, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/3YwbHlF

• Fenway Sports Group, whose backers include RedBird Capital Partners, agreed to sell the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins to Chicago's Hoffmann family for $1.7b. FSG paid around $875m to buy the Penguins four years ago.

• (Maybe FSG will use some of those profits to help the Red Sox actually sign a free agent. Although it's probably gonna get stashed away for a bid on the NBA's eventual expansion franchise in Las Vegas.)

• Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) agreed to buy specialty insurer Vantage Group for about $2.1b from Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman, with Pershing Square helping to finance the deal. axios.link/3L3ztT3

• Accenture (NYSE: ACN) agreed to acquire a 65% stake DLB Associates, a Neptune, N.J.-based AI data center engineering and consulting firm. axios.link/3MAuU3b

• BNP Paribas (Paris: BNPP) is in exclusive talks to buy Athlon, the car-leasing subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, for around €1b. axios.link/3MENeIp

• Citizens Business Bank (Nasdaq: CVBF) and Heritage Bank (Nasdaq: HTBK), both focused on California, agreed to merge. axios.link/48Lt5Jk

• Elliott Investment Management has built more than a $1b stake in Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU), "and is lining up a potential CEO candidate," per Reuters. axios.link/3N6gzLO

• Inocea Group, a U.K.-based marine, defense and industrial group, is considering a takeover of German warship builder GYNK, per Reuters. axios.link/4iZsYgy

🚑 Irenic Capital Management has built more than a 3% stake in Integer (NYSE: ITGR) and is pushing the medical device CDMO to explore a sale, per the WSJ. axios.link/49hOM3H

• Garuda Ventures, focused on pre-seed and seed B2B investments, is raising up to $50m for its second fund, per an SEC filing.

🚑 Health Velocity Capital is raising up to $300m for its third fund, per an SEC filing.

• Mischief, an SF-based VC firm, is raising up to $165m for its third fund, per an SEC filing.

• Mike Abbott joined Autotech Ventures as a venture partner. He's previously been with GM, Apple, and Kleiner Perkins. Autotech also promoted Burak Cendek to managing director and David Le to senior operating partner. axios.link/4qi9eXX

Inflation cooled in November, with the Consumer Price Index rising 2.7% year-over-year. That was below economist expectations.

• Core CPI, which strips out energy and food costs, was up 2.6% year-over-year.
• The U.S. government didn't release inflation reports for October, due to disruptions caused by the government shutdown.

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